


Translucent

by Triggered_Delirium



Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst, Cannon, Complete, F/M, Romance, Some comedy, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 12:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 56
Words: 264,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9820712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triggered_Delirium/pseuds/Triggered_Delirium
Summary: It's funny how quickly life can change; we take for granted the life we have, and then yearn for it when it's taken away. The clear windowpane that represented my chosen future was now a frosted, blurred glass; an ominous outline on the other side the only thing visable. The boy with white hair... Would he be able to save me...from myself? Toushirou OC





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completed work. For my obsessive editing tendencies--with my luck, you'll still find errors--chapters will be posted every Monday and Thursday. Each chapter has a minimum of 4000 words for lengthy-reader's pleasure. I started this work about 9 years ago, and got a couple chapters in before I completely submitted to writer's block for the following 8 years. Now--within the last year--I've taken it upon myself to complete this work and to at the very least post it. I wanted it to still have that feel and style of writing as it did 9 years ago, so if you're looking for language that is absolutely sophisticated, then this might not be the work for you(Lord knows that I sometimes crave sophistication as well). Also, the original posting of this story was on Fanfiction on 11/28/16; I will update there and here on the same days.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy this work. If there are any flaws that you see in my style of writing, please educate me on it so that future chapters don't have inaccuracies.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> -Vi.

A raindrop fell on my cheek.

Looking up into the grey sky, I watched as all the small drops multiplied rapidly. I'd known it was going to rain, I'd known that I should've probably been indoors, and I'd known that to most people this was just odd and childish; but not to me.

I've never cared what people have to say about being in the rain. I've always had a likeness for it, and it couldn't be helped.

I spun around in a circle—my arms fully extended and my head tilted up toward the sky. I let the rain absolutely soak me from head to toe. It was a good feeling; a clean, pure feeling. Sure, I'd probably catch a cold later, but hey, it was well worth it. It felt like all my sorrows, all my pain, all my sins, _everything_ , was being absorbed by each and every drop, and dripping off my body onto the ground—it was like an addiction I couldn't get enough of.

"Azumi! Get inside already!" My Mom yelled from the window.

Although she wasn't my real mother, she was the closest thing I had to one. She could be annoying at times, but she still cared for me, and I appreciated it very much.

"Azumi!" She yelled again.

"I'll be inside later, Mom!" I yelled back.

It was the last rain of the winter, and there was no way I was going to miss it. I looked toward the window and saw my Mom's face of disapproval. I'd be in for it later—that was for sure.

"Get inside now, young lady!" And with that, she slammed the window shut to keep the cold air out.

I sighed.

If I didn't comply, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

So with one more spin and a few more drops on my face, I unwillingly went inside. I tossed off my wet Converse and socks, and grabbed the earth brown towel that magically made its way to the table in front of me.

"Don't come crying to me when you catch a cold. I warned you, but as usual you went ahead and did it anyway. When will you learn?" My irritated mother asked.

"When I turn 256," I replied with a smirk.

She sighed and walked into the kitchen—probably to take out the medicine and chicken noodle soup. The soup was good, but it was the medicine I hated most. To this day I always spit it out when she's not looking. There's poison or something in those pills, I _know_ it.

I rung out my shoulder-blade length dark brown hair, and wrapped it in the towel like I just got out of the shower.

As I went up the stairs towards my bedroom, I heard the front door swing open—which meant that my Dad was home. Of course not my real Dad, but the person that—like my Mother—was the closet thing I had to one.

The truth is I really don't know who my real parents were. Every time I'd ask, my parents would always tell me the same old story of how they found me. I've been a part of this family for just about all my 16 years, so, whatever's clever.

My Dad brought in the groceries—or should I say pack of beer—and set it on the coffee table. Which meant that I had to go deposit them in the fridge—oh joy, and after I just got upstairs too.

I ran down the stairs, grabbed the beer, and went directly to putting them in the fridge. My Dad patted my head as usual, set down his lunchbox, and sat down at the kitchen table to take off his boots.

He was the manager at the local Karakura town construction company, while my Mom worked in an office dispatching trucks, getting truck drivers, and all that other delivery mumbo-jumbo which I still don't understand. All I know is that she controls the trucks that get the food to the stores. They pay the bills, so despite not understanding, I'm fine with it.

He gave my Mom a kiss—as he did normally—and then proceeded to ask the daily question to the both of us.

"How was everyone's day?"

After my Mom explained how tedious and stressful her day was, my Dad side-glanced me for my response.

"Pointless and a waste of time." I shrugged.

It was true; school sucks and _is_ a waste of time. All you really need are the basics; I ain't seen anyone that ever needed Geometry for anything!

"It'll be over in no time, just tough it out." He smirked, asking me to get him a beer with his eyes.

Thank God it was the twist-cap beer—I had no idea where the bottle-opener was, and I really didn't feel like looking. After I handed him the beer and stood there listening to them chit-chat for a few minutes, I grabbed my Converse and socks and went upstairs to go do homework and go to bed...so my parents thought.

Locking my bedroom door, I started to get ready.

I threw the towel off my head and combed my hair, then changed my already soaked jacket for my dry, pull-over black hoodie. I changed my jeans for a dry pair of black ones, then put on my socks and only pair of Converse. I grabbed my music player and looped the wires up my shirt while I stuck the music player itself in my pocket. Lastly, I grabbed my cell phone and made for the window.

It was a good thing that my parents never really checked up on me at night like normal parents; if they did and they found out I wasn't there, there'd be Hell to pay.

Propping open my window quietly, I shimmied out onto the wooden, ladder-like wall of flowers against my wall. Once I was low enough, I jumped the rest of the way down, and ran to the tree for cover. I had to check to see if my parentals were paying attention before I continued. I squinted my eyes and saw them through the window—they were still in the kitchen talking. I walked right past the window without anyone seeing, and started walking toward the park.

No, I didn't leave so that I could go hang out with friends or anything as most people would think; I actually left so I could be alone. The park would no doubt be deserted because of the hour and rain, so it seemed like the perfect place to just listen to music by myself.

Stepping into the sand—or, muddy-sand now—I sat down on one of the swings after pouring off all the water collected in the seat. I cranked up the volume of my music player to the loudest setting, and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of being by myself. I held onto the chains of the swing and lifted my feet off the ground; slowly swaying back and forth in the swing. I rarely ever sang, but at the moment, no one was around.

**Boom.**

I stopped my singing mid-sentence; a rush of wind blew my hood off. My spine went stiff, and my body froze with fear.

Thunder?

No—of course it wouldn't be something as simple as thunder. I opened my eyes and saw something from a nightmare.

A giant monster-like creature with a mask covering it's face was directly in front of me.

It was hunched down on all fours, staring at me with glowing red eyes through the small eye holes of it's mask. It bent down closer to me, just to about eye-level; it's steamy breath smacking against my face as it spoke.

"Well would you look at what I've found? I knew if I followed my nose I'd find something worthwhile, and look—I did!" It laughed.

"Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way, _Umai-chan_?" It laughed a dark, demented laugh.

My heart was beating so fast I thought it'd shoot out of my chest.

If there was any situation where you were basically screwed no matter what, this would be it.

There was no way on earth I'd be able to get away from this _thing_ alive—not even if I'd made a mad dash at that very moment. But even so, I wasn't going to give up without even trying.

"B-But, I'm not delicious in the least, y-you don't want me, I-I won't satisfy you," I stuttered, my eyes wide and my body trembling.

"Oh, but yes you are! You see, you have a strange reiatsu that I haven't felt in years; when I ate the last one, it was really tasty! The only difference is that your reiatsu is larger than his was; so if he was tasty, then no doubt you'd be delicious, _Umai-chan_." It licked its lips.

Without another thought, I made a dash as fast as I could away from the thing.

I had to try to get away; even if it was pointless, I just had to.

I peeked over my shoulder and saw that the thing was gone. I sighed in relief, but then crashed straight into something hard and red. I backed up a step, and noticed the lines and curves on the wall.

Or, what I thought was a wall.

I cursed under my breath as I realized that it was the monster's giant hand that I crashed into. I spun around quickly, only to have its other hand slammed against the ground.

It had me trapped like a rat.

It laughed that evil, maniacal laugh, and quickly brought its hands together; making a loud clapping sound as ut practically flattened me from the hold. I sharply exhaled and lightly shrieked; I was so incredibly scared that I didn't really know how to react from the fast action.

"What? No screams? Where's the fun in that?" It asked.

I gulped hard in response, and it tightened its grip on me.

"Scream." It commanded.

Its grip tightened so much that I screamed out of pure, agonizing pain.

Its thumbs were wrapped around my center—where it squeezed the hardest. It started laughing again as it loosened its grip a little, and at the pressure change my vision began to blur.

The monster stopped laughing all of a sudden.

I couldn't quite process what was happening, but it seemed as if its right eye suddenly slid downward—in fact its whole right side started sliding downward.

Suddenly, it turned into dust; its remnants drifted away with the storm.

I felt like I was falling; my heart rate slowed and my vision finally gave way.

I counted down for the moment I'd meet the concrete; my vision darkened as my consciousness came to an end.

-[×]-

Bright, grey light suddenly blinded my brown orbs as soon as I opened them. Just as soon I closed them again, wincing from the sting. I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly. My body was incredibly sore for some reason.

Last night's terrifying event flashed swiftly through my mind.

But, how did I survive?

I finally opened my eyes and looked around. It was morning time apparently, and I was lying—or, sitting now—on a park bench.

Wait, it was morning.

"Shit!" I cursed.

My parents were probably freaking out by now.

I jumped off the bench, and even though I landed on my feet, I immediately fell to my knees—I forgot the fact that my body hurt like hell. With a deep, pained breath, I slowly stood up again, and ran toward home.

I checked the time on my cell phone—8 a.m.

Okay, so technically I'd still be asleep right now. So—in theory—I could get away with this without my parents knowing. Good; they didn't need to know about this.

I made it to my house, crawled under the front window in case they were in the living room, and then turned the corner to the wall of flowers that led to my window. I climbed up with a few winces, and then opened the window and scrambled inside.

"Damn it," I cursed at the pain.

It felt like I was going to throw up from all of it. I took off all clothing aside from my bra and underwear, put on my pajama sweat pants and tank top, then fell on top of my bed. As I laid there trying to sleep, my mind raced with questions.

Just what exactly was that thing? How did I get away? Why was I on safely on a bench rather than dead on the concrete? Did it…die?

It was only then that I realized today was Friday, and I had school—shit.

If it wasn't for that damn test, I would've just skipped and stayed home sleeping, but _no_ , my damn teacher just _had_ to give us a test on a Friday. The day everyone usually misses. How teacher-ish.

I got up and started getting ready. I threw on the uniform we were required to wear, then wiped off the smudged eyeliner and applied more just underneath my lashes. I really didn't care if people thought I was a raccoon or whatever, this was me whether they liked it or not.

My eyes actually looked an orangy-brown today rather than their normal dark brown; it was weird, but I just shrugged it off and continued getting ready. If I was lucky, I'd make it there in time for break-hopefully.

I put on my shoes, ran down the stairs with my bag, and out the front door. I didn't have time for breakfast, so, I'd just have to wait for lunch. Oh damn it—I forgot my lunch! I mentally cursed at myself while running; I had no time to go back home and make it, so, I'd just have to starve today—joy.

I finally made it to Karakura High, and ran in through the gate. Being a senior, it was bad to be late; if you were late, you'd have to stay after school and help clean up the classroom or something of equal boredom. So, maybe if I was just skilled enough, I could just slip into the classroom and act like I was there the entire time.

Everyone forgets that I'm in their midst sometimes because I'm quiet. I never really talked to anyone; I just did my work, and slept. No one really cared because I've always been the outcast of this school. Yep, everyone has a name for me: 'The Loner Girl,' 'the Emo/Gothic girl,' 'Takashita Azumi,' or just plain out 'the Weird Kid.'

What can I say? I really didn't care about people's thoughts or opinions, so I was fine with it. It's always been a 'You leave me alone; I'll leave you alone' attitude with me, and Hell, it worked. It's funny because even the lower graders knew me.

" _Haha, I'm popular…not._ " I snickered in my head.

I took a shortcut through the freshman building. It was the fastest way to get to the senior building without running into staff, faculty, or any of those idiots that always ask: 'Where are you supposed to be right now?'

I was almost home-free when I saw a faculty member walk into the freshman building.

"What the hell? They're not supposed to be here, damn it!" I muttered quietly to myself.

Quickly, I ran to the nearest trashcan and crouched down behind it. Thanks to my shortness, I easily was able to hide without my head sticking up over the trash can.

Easy-peesy.

The guy from faculty walked by without even noticing. I suppressed a laugh until I saw that he left the building. I stood up—victoriously shooting imaginary bullets toward him through my fingertips—and watched him enter the next building as I walked backwards towards the other exit.

Suddenly and unsuspectingly during my triumphant dance, I bumped into someone.

I spun around quickly, and saw a freshman with white hair in front of me; texting something on his phone.

I looked up from his phone, and directly into his teal hues by accident—they were looking directly into mine.

I felt a faint blush spread across my cheeks,and then I realized that he was a little taller than me—damn freshman. Then again, _everyone_ was taller than me.

"Sorry kid," I said before stepping to the side and walking toward the exit.

" _Why'd I blush when I saw him? I've never blushed over anyone before. Ever. Not even that one really hot guy that was in my class last year with the body of steel that had the superman hair-curl and everything. Not even him. What the hell?"_ I scoffed mentally.

Once I got to the exit, I peeked over my shoulder as slyly as I could.

He was gone.

-[×]-

I made it safely to class and before I knew it, the school day was over. Of course that was because I slept through it. I walked home by myself as usual, my music player full blast in my ears to yet another rock song—I'm a rock fanatic, what can I say?

I passed by the same park from last night.

My heart started pounding furiously at just the thought of last night's scene. Picking up the pace, I walked as fast as I could past the spot. I still didn't know what that thing was, and I most certainly wasn't going to wait for another one to come and avenge it or something. I'll leave the police or whoever to figure that out—if they didn't declare me mentally insane first.

Once I reached the end of the park, I heard it again.

The same " **Boom** " sound from last night.

My heart-rate increased rapidly.

I looked around and everyone just continued to walk by like nothing.

Could they not hear it?

**Boom.**

There it was again.

It was coming closer.

**Boom.**

"Shit!" I looked around again, and the people were the same as before.

What the hell was going on?

I pulled a random lady to the side.

"Excuse me, did you hear that?" I asked frantically.

She snorted and pulled away from me.

"Young lady, did you ever stop to think that maybe that loud music you're listening to has anything to do with it?" She said before walking away irritated.

Whatever, now wasn't the time.

I heard it again.

Without thinking, I broke out into a run.

There was no way _in hell_ I'd stay there to see another one of those disgusting creatures again. I glanced behind my shoulder—nothing was there. I looked forward again and stopped dead in my tracks.

In front of me stood the monster.

This one was different from before—that was for sure. It's mask was white like the other one's, but it's coloring was different; it's body was dark brown and it's hands a dark green. It was slightly smaller from the other one, and had similar features to that of a black bear; that fact didn't make me any less terrified.

I glanced left and right; no one noticed the gigantic creature standing in the middle of the sidewalk—none whatsoever.

I felt faint.

How could no one else but me see this?

Before I knew it, the monster grabbed me with it's dark green hand—much like the monster from last night had. It hadn't lifted me off the ground, but it did squeeze me all the same; I started screaming.

"Can you see me, girl?" It asked, squeezing me so tightly in that instant that I couldn't scream.

I nodded and it sniffed the air for a second.

"Ah, so you're the one I've been smelling! Your appetizing scent goes for miles; I couldn't contain myself anymore!" It said, licking it's lips as it lifted me off the ground.

"No! Stop!" I pleaded, tears escaping down my cheek.

What was it with these monsters and squeezing the be-jesus out of me?

It laughed, and then opened its mouth wide to dangle me over it.

I kicked and screamed as loud as I could, and the people around us freaked out and ran—all hope was lost again.

It let go.

I plunged head first straight into its mouth. I closed my eyes, waiting for my imminent demise.

Something flew into me.

Opening my eyes, I realized I was safe on the sidewalk.

Suddenly, there was a violent roar that came from the monster.

Sitting up, I saw the monster's arm thump onto the ground; I focused back to the monster.

There was a kid with white hair standing in front of the monster with a sword in his hand. He had on a black shihakushou with a white haori on top—something no one wears nowadays—and had the number 10 written in kanji on the back of it along with his sword's sheath.

How was it possible?

How could some kid take on something like this?

"Bastard!" The monster yelled, and with it's other still-attached arm, tried to squish the kid.

"Watch out!" I screeched.

The kid was gone.

I looked back and forth, but I couldn't see him.

Then the monster gave a distorted howl, and disintegrated into dust like the previous monster had.

The kid reappeared where the monster was.

I forced myself to move, and finally stood up—even though I fell right back down.

The kid looked over his shoulder at me—his teal eyes pierced mine for what seemed like forever.

That's when it hit me.

It was that freshman from before!

"W-Who are you?" I asked.

He shut his eyes, and crossed his arms like he was in deep thought.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou." He said.

"T-Takashita Azumi," I stuttered in reply.

He made a 'hmm' noise in contemplation, and then opened his eyes again; those eyes of his made me shudder.

"How long have you been seeing Hollows?" He asked me.

"H-Hollows? Is that what that thing was?" I asked.

"N-Never, not since last night," I breathed out.

He didn't say anything, but then he turned around like he was about to leave.

"Wait!" I shouted.

He stood there like a statue and waited for me to speak.

"Was it you who saved me last night?" I asked; he nodded.

"Go home, Takashita." He said.

"Wait! Please, tell me what's going on!" I whimpered.

"Why am I the only one that sees these... _Hollow_ things? Please, tell me!" I pleaded.

He exhaled really loudly and mumbled something to himself—obviously he was annoyed.

"If not now, how about tonight? Please? I'll meet you at the coffee shop down the street or something at 8p.m.—Hell, I'll even _buy_ you something to eat if you want! Just please," I pleaded again.

He disappeared without giving so much as a nod.

I stood up—shaken and confused—and walked unsteadily home.

My parents weren't home yet, which was a good thing—I looked and felt like crap. I attempted running upstairs, but ended up walking from the soreness. I ended up taking a long, nice shower because I reeked of that Hollow-thing's scent. For a little while, I just stood there in the shower, letting the hot water give me a nice, good soak—I needed it.

After I got out of the shower, got dressed, dried my hair and applied makeup, it was just about 6 p.m. That meant I had two hours to kill before going to meet Toushirou at the coffee shop.

Honestly, I was scared to meet him; if he showed up to explain, it was certain that everything about my life would change drastically. I could feel my nervousness pulsating in the pit of my gut.

-[×]-

Although time went about as fast as a snail, 2 hours had passed, and I was on my way to the coffee shop.

I was so overly paranoid that any little rustle or noise I heard had me running. I did _not_ feel like getting eaten or anything like that tonight.

I looked around for Toushirou when I got there, and finally spotted him waiting outside the coffee shop.

He was wearing a simple grey, long-sleeved shirt with light-blue jeans tonight—which kind of surprised me because I half-expected to see him in that weird shihakushou thing from earlier.

What surprised me the most however, was that I felt a small blush rise on my cheeks. I mean I knew he was gorgeous and all, but definitely not my type, nor someone that I even wanted to get involved with that way. Plus he was younger! No way would that ever work...

As if sensing my approach, his head turned to me and I stopped a few feet away from him.

Wow, how the hell could I even start such a conversation?

I rubbed the back of my neck in frustration until finally I spoke up.

"Want some coffee?" I asked.

He stood up from his leaning position against the wall, and walked toward me.

"Listen Takashita," he began, "it's best that you just forget about what happened earlier today and last night."

Forget? How was he expecting me to just forget almost getting killed twice in such a short amount of time?

If he honestly thought I'd simply forget all this, then there was something wrong with that thing occupying the hollow cavity of his skull.

"How can you expect me to forget a thing like that? I almost died twice within 24 hours, and you want me to just forget? That's not happening." I replied, crossing my arms and looking him directly in his eyes.

He sighed and put one of his hands into his pocket'-fiddling with whatever was inside as he proceeded to ask me questions.

"You've never had any previous encounters with Hollows before last night, correct? Has anything else abnormal happened to you since I last saw you?" He asked.

"No; not since last night, and if anything did, I doubt I'd be here talking to you right now. Can you just explain to me what the Hell is going on now?" I asked, getting irritated.

He motioned with his free hand for me to follow him, and I did. He led me to a dark, secluded place that I most definitely wasn't expecting him to take me. Without realizing it, I walked closer to him as we walked into an alley.

"You know, I forgot to thank you for saving my life today, and last night as well—so, thank you." I said.

He didn't say anything.

" _Stuck up brat._ " I thought.

He suddenly stopped and turned around to face me.

I stopped abruptly, staring into his teal irises.

"Now are you going to tell me?" I asked.

"Afraid not."

He lifted up what looked like a candy dispenser to my face, and pushed a button.

The white flash that came from the disguised bunny-looking mechanism distorted my vision, and the darkness of unconsciousness overwhelmed me again.


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke with a jolt.

I looked around and saw that I was safely tucked under my covers inside the confines of my small room. Rubbing my eyes, I noticed that I still had eyeliner on by the black streaks that were now on the sides of my index fingers.

"Strange, I always take off my makeup before bed; I must have really knocked out if I forgot to do part of my nightly routine." I mumbled aloud.

I shrugged it off and got out of my bed.

I still was fully clothed.

What the Hell? And why was I so sore?

I took off my old makeup, replaced it, changed into my school uniform, and wandered downstairs.

Sure, I was still confused about everything, but, I really couldn't recall what happened last night…or the night before, actually. I stopped in the middle of the stairway and wondered why I couldn't remember. I shut my eyes tightly, and still nothing came. As I descended down the rest of the stairs, I saw both my parents sitting in the living room watching TV.

What in the—?

Apparently it was Saturday.

After my initial shocked outburst upon receiving that information, the rest of the day I spent trying to figure out what the Hell had happened to make me. Why couldn't I remember? Yesterday was Wednesday, and now it was Saturday. What happened the last two days?

My parents didn't help me at all. All they said was: 'You're just over exaggerating again.'

But I wasn't! I knew that something bad happened, but nobody wanted to tell me anything! I was so annoyed I felt like slamming my head against a wall.

I even spent Sunday thinking about it too—just trying to figure out what exactly was missing. I was so stubborn that there was no way in Hell that I'd let this just slip by. I was going to figure out what happened if it killed me.

Before I knew it, Monday came and I was back at school. I sat up on my usual tree branch eating my poorly prepared sandwich as I did everyday. Of course everyone pointed and snickered at me, but I was already so used to it that it didn't quite faze me anymore. My eyes drifted to random areas of the school campus like normal, but something seemed different about today.

There was something that I wasn't seeing—like a 'Where's Waldo?' feeling. I scanned from side to side, and saw nothing out of the ordinary; it was probably just my imagination again. My eyes trailed up one of the school buildings, and up to the rooftop.

There it was.

There was some kid sitting on the building's ledge. What was he doing all the way up there?

" _Just what does this kid think he's doing? He's right on the edge! He's gonna fall off to his concrete demise_ _if he isn't careful!_ " I panicked mentality.

I grabbed my bag and jumped down from the tree to tell him to get off that ledge.

The thing that got me, however, was that warning him wasn't really the reason I was going up there—it was my excuse to myself. There was something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on; something familiar about that unnaturally white hair of his.

I made it to the rooftop—completely out of breath—and looked around; he wasn't there.

Where could he have gone? He couldn't have passed me without me noticing—it was impossible. I walked to the ledge he was previously sitting on, and looked down; maybe he _did_ fall off.

There wasn't anything there; no unmoving body with broken limbs on the ground or splattered bloody remains. Where'd he go? I scanned the rooftop again and saw absolutely nothing beside the things that are normally on rooftops. I sighed and leaned against the edge, overlooking the town. Was it all just my imagination?

The rest of the day was full of chores, homework, and stress again. I couldn't help but stay up wondering what happened last week again. Was that such a sin?

-[×]-

I walked through the freshman building on my way to second period the next day. I lined the right side of the building to avoid the crowd—that would no doubt make me claustrophobic—when someone bumped into me.

"Sorry, Takashita," The orange-haired freshman known as Kurosaki Ichigo said to me, as he kept walking along.

"Don't worry about it, Kurosaki." I replied.

It was weird; although he was younger than I was, he was one of the only people at school that would say something to me aside from the teachers. He didn't even know me or was what one would call one of my 'friends,' so why would he bother? I shrugged it off and kept walking until I realized something.

Something felt weird about Kurosaki.

Like, a bad aura or some kind of weird abnormal presence. But wasn't that what he usually gave off? No, this one was different. What was this feeling?

Looking over my shoulder, Kurosaki was already gone. There was no way I'd be able to look for him without being late, but then again if I found him, what would I say?

' _Hey something feels strange about you today?'_

Not happening.

I walked into my classroom and sat down at my desk; immediately going into my second period sleep-mode.

Lunch time came again, and I sat up on my tree branch eating the same sandwich I'd prepared for myself everyday. Only this time, I paid close attention to the building rooftop. All of lunch I kept my eyes plastered on the cement ledge at the top of the building; waiting to see if that kid from yesterday would come again. That way I could prove to myself that he wasn't just a figure of my imagination.

Sure enough, the boy suddenly appeared, and sat at the same spot he did yesterday.

"Aha! I knew it! There's no disappearing this time; I've got my eye you, squirt." I chuckled sarcastically.

I took another bite of my sandwich while my mind drifted off again to thoughts of what the kid was doing up there and etcetera. I mean, most kids here are usually with their friends and all that other stuff—well, except me of course—so, what was this kid doing by himself?

I put down my half-eaten sandwich and snagged my water bottle for a drink; my eyes still not leaving the rooftop kid. Then all of a sudden, an orange-haired kid came and leaned next to him.

It was Kurosaki!

_He_ knew this kid?

I put my water bottle back in my bag and jumped down from the tree with my stuff. I threw away my sandwich and looked back up to the rooftop.

Both of them looked at the white-haired kid's cell phone, and then each other. Suddenly, Kurosaki slammed something against his chest and the other kids popped a pill.

My jaw dropped, _again_.

I couldn't believe what happened next.

Once the two of them did that, a duplicate copy of themselves emerged from their bodies.

"Oh my God! What the—! What just—!"I shrieked and panicked aloud.

The two duplicate copies said something to the first copies; the first copies saluted them and then they all disappeared.

I felt faint.

I couldn't…

What just…

" _Was that a freaking exorcism?"_ I screamed mentally.

I knew something was up with that boy, and I knew something was up with Kurosaki. It couldn't have been any more confirmed with this incident.

As freaked out and scared as I was, I knew that one thing was for certain—I had to find out just what in the hell was going on.

When school ended for the day, I waited by the gate for Kurosaki to show up. I saw all the students go by, and then finally—about a zillion years later—Kurosaki showed up walking with three girls and four guys.

"Kurosaki!" I called, waving a hand to call him over.

I decided to play it cool, like I was unfazed by what I saw earlier and not scared at all. They say evil things can sense your fear, so if I pretended as hard as I could, maybe it wouldn't show.

Kurosaki cocked an eyebrow at me—taken aback that I summoned him it seemed—then said something to his friends and walked over to me with the usual scowl on his face.

"Hey, Takashita; what's up?" He asked casually.

"Hey, sorry to bother you; let's walk and talk so you can keep up with your friends, shall we?" I prompted, walking forward before continuing.

"God, you took forever to show up! I thought I'd just have to wait until tomorrow." I commented, trying my best to be as casual as I could.

"For?" He asked, holding his school bag over his shoulder.

"Okay, well, there's a few things that I've been wondering, and you're the only person that I think can help me. So, mind if I ask you a few questions? It'll be like a game show questionnaire!" I said, giggling nervously while fiddling with the straps of my bag.

"Why for me? We rarely even talk; what questions could you possibly have for me?" He countered.

I tried ignoring his protest by dodging his rebuttal and continuing.

"Anyway, I saw you up on the roof today at lunch,"

"And?"

" _And_ , you were with someone. So, my first question is: who was that kid?"

His gaze shifted from the street to me in a questioning look before he answered.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou; what's it to you, Takashita?" He tried to pull off his usual bored tone.

" _That name! Where have I heard that name before?"_ I thought to myself.

I felt a headache coming on already; this was even weirder.

"Takashita?" Kurosaki waved a hand in front of my face.

"Anybody in there? Geez, space out on me why don't you!" He sighed.

I finally shook out of my mental rambling with myself to see Kurosaki again.

"Anymore questions?" He asked.

"My, my, very impatient aren't we?" I asked rhetorically with a smirk playing on my lips.

He shook his head and motioned me to continue with my questioning.

"Okay, okay, so, his name's Hitsugaya Toushirou. Anyway, I was watching you guys and well..." I trailed off.

How the hell wad I supposed to ask this?

"And?" He prompted.

I couldn't help but gulp audibly.

"Well…uhh…" I trailed.

I had gone over how to approach the topic about a dozen times over, yet now that it came down to it, I panicked.

"Uh…well…i-is there something that you need help with?" I squeaked.

" _Oh good one!"_ I mentally yelled at myself.

He shot me a questioning look.

"No…not really," He replied.

" _This is going swimmingly."_ I thought.

"Takashita, is there something—"

I cut Kurosaki off with an anxious shout.

"I saw both of you leaving your bodies!" I blurted out loudly.

Kurosaki stopped and just stared at me.

"I-I want to k-know how you did that and if there's something wrong and if you need help and have you always been able to do that? I don't understand how you can do that—are you some type of super natural—"

"Takashita," Kurosaki cut me off.

" _Nice going you idiot!"_ I yelled internally.

"Are you okay?" Kurosaki asked.

I exhaled deeply.

"I just…saw the two of you leave your bodies…I just want to know what's happening…" I trailed.

Kurosaki grinned and put a hand over my head as he chuckled.

"You're just imagining things, Takashita. Calm down; I'm not supernatural, and neither is Toushirou." He said coolly and calmly.

I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

"B-But, you and Toushirou," I trailed.

"I know what this is about," Kurosaki said playfully.

I looked up at him as he continued.

"Why Takashita, I didn't know you were a stalker! How long have you been watching us up there?" He teased.

I couldn't help but try to retaliate—a sheepish anger the best I could muster.

"That's not it at all; baka! Don't try to change the subject!" I shot back—he laughed.

"Now tell me; just what the hell is going on?" I pressed.

Right as we crossed the street, Kurosaki suddenly stopped and looked to our right intently—something was wrong.

That's when I heard it.

It sounded similar to a roar or something animalistic; it seemed to be a little bit away from us, but I could still hear it. Suddenly, the air became harder to breathe; like someone turned gravity up a notch.

I looked at Kurosaki and noticed that his facial expression changed from his usual scowl to seriousness. There was such a malevolent aura that suddenly wrapped itself around me, that I couldn't help but shiver. The thing about it was though, Kurosaki didn't seem like the malevolent one; it was whatever he was staring at.

"K-Kurosaki, what...is that?" I asked.

Which reminded me.

When I passed by him going to second period, he felt different. It was almost like the feeling I was getting now, but more controlled, less threatening, and the one that I'd choose out of the two.

He looked at my face with surprise, and then grabbed my arm to push me forward.

"Listen, Takashita, I'd love to play 20 questions, but I just realized that I have something important I have to go do. I'll talk with you later, okay? Go home." He said as he started walking in the direction of that roar we heard.

I grabbed his arm before he went any further.

He turned back at me, and looked at me with confusion; I shook my head and looked up at him.

"Don't go that way. Something bad is over there…didn't you hear that roar? Can't you feel that?" I asked.

His brows furrowed in surprise, and he promptly took his arm back.

"Takashita, you...heard that?" He asked.

I nodded my head.

He stared at me for a few seconds, then grabbed my arm again and helped me cross the street.

"Look—like I said—I really have to go. I promise we'll continue this discussion later okay? Just go straight home, all right?"

I nodded, but before I could open my mouth to ask the burning question on my lips, he took off running.

"K-Kurosaki!" I yelled.

He didn't look back; he just kept running in the direction I specifically warned him not to run toward.

Feeling freaked out by his behavior and everything else, I started walking home as fast as I could. I made it to my front door and shut and locked it frantically behind me.

Why did Kurosaki run away like that? What was that thing that roared just now? Why does all this seem so familiar? Why am I asking so many damn questions? And most of all: just who the hell were Kurosaki and Toushirou?

I went up to my room and sat on my bed as I hugged my knees and looked out my window. Questions bubbled about in my head about anything and everything that I had lost track of time.

I quickly checked in with my parentals and finished my chores to not raise any alarm. By the time I'd finished and got back to my room, the sun had already set—the moon now in its place in the night sky. If it wasn't for the fact I was scared at the moment, I'd probably be at the park watching the half-full moon like I normally would.

"Kurosaki knows what's going on—that much is certain. His reaction to me today didn't make me feel threatened, so that's a start. Tomorrow I'llfind out what he's hiding from me—I have to." I whispered aloud to myself as I laid under my comforter.

My eyes shot open and I sat up abruptly in my bed.

I looked wide-eyed at my surroundings—it was still night time. I didn't remember having any nightmares, but still, it felt like something was off.

"W _hy'd I wake up like that?"_

I looked around again as a shiver ran up my spine; I held myself while staring at the window.

It was then that I realized my window was open.

I froze stiff, staring at it with my heart beating furiously.

" _That most definitely wasn't open earlier!"_ I panicked.

I got up, and slowly crept to the window.

Every horror movie preview that ever fazed me played in my head as I inched closer to it. Cautiously and slowly, I peeked through my fluttering curtains out the window.

Nothing but the outside world.

I sighed in relief and quickly closed my window and locked it. I reasoned that I must've slept-walked and opened it—no other thought pacified me. I laid back in bed after scanning the room one last time. I threw the covers over myself, and squeezed my eyes shut to attempt sleeping.

It seemed like I just barely shut my eyes and it was already morning.

Irritably, I got up to turn off my alarm—that was about to sound in _precisely_ one minute—and got ready for school. I had to confront Kurosaki again today; hopefully this confrontation would be more fruitful than the last one.

I walked to second period through the freshman building again, but this time I didn't see Kurosaki.

Was he avoiding me?

Before I knew it, lunch time came again, and I was sitting on my tree branch staring at the rooftop intensely. I wasn't going to miss a thing today—I was going to make sure of it. Sure enough, the two came out to the ledge again; Toushirou sat while Kurosaki was stood next to him.

Suddenly—not too much to my surprise—Kurosaki nodded toward the tree I was sitting on to Toushirou.

The white-haired boy turned his teal eyes toward me in a piercing stare.

I gulped down the sandwich that was in my mouth, and quickly scooted back toward the base of the tree; the light foliage growing from the branches kept me hidden from their perspective. The good thing though was that I could still see them through the leaves. Toushirou turned to talk to Kurosaki, and Kurosaki jumped back in surprise at whatever he said before looking back in my direction.

"What the hell did Toushirou say to him?" I mumbled in a huff to myself.

I looked back up to see them talking normally; only Kurosaki glancing occasionally in my direction. I stayed propped up against the tree trunk for the rest of lunch.

Soon enough, the school day was over and I was waiting at the gate for Kurosaki again.

Taking forever as he did the day before, he finally came to the gate with his friends. There was a bigger group with him this time, and someone that I most definitely didn't expect to see at the moment was included. The group consisted of 4 girls, and 8 guys—Kurosaki not included.

Starting with the girls, there were 2 with black hair, and 2 with orange hair. One of the black haired girls had violet eyes while the other had light brown eyes. The one with the violet eyes had hair slightly longer than the one with brown eyes, and she was also a little bit shorter than she was as well. The 2 with the orange hair had one thing in common—they both had _huge_ boobs; which internally made me cringe at my small ones. The difference was that one of them was a little shorter than the other was, and had brown eyes while the other had light blue eyes. The taller one with the light blue eyes looked like she could pass for an adult rather than a student, but, kids now days have abnormal growth spurts, so, who knows.

Now to the assortment of males; there were 2 that I recognized as being Asano Keigo and Kojima Mizuiro, however the others I'd never seen before. There was a slender one with black hair and square glasses standing next to a really tall, dark and buff guy that didn't really look Japanese at all—more like Hispanic, but anyway. There was a bald guy with a wooden sword looped through one of the belt holes on his pants, a guy with bright red hair and black tattoos all over his face which included his eyebrows, a guy with black hair that was cut to just about his jaw area with two red feathers glued onto the inner part of his right eyebrow, while two yellow ones were glued to the outer corner of his right eye. What the Hell the point of that was, I will never know. And lastly was Kurosaki and a person that I wasn't quite expecting him to bring—Hitsugaya Toushirou.

I sighed at the fact that I knew something like this would happen to me. Before I even called him, Kurosaki turned to his friends and told them something I'm guessing was along the lines of 'I'm going to talk to Takashita, you guys go ahead,' or, at least something like that. I heard some of the girls giggle and some of the guys chuckle.

"What's this, Ichigo? You got a girlfriend?" The one with red hair blurted loudly.

He laughed while the bald guy and tall orange haired lady joined.

"Ooh, Ichigo! She's adorable! Where'd you find her?" The lady said while waving at me with a smile.

Not knowing any better, I waved back sheepishly.

"Well? Are you going to stand there, or introduce us to your girlfriend? Eh, Ichigo?" The bald one asked.

Kurosaki punched the bald one's head.

"She is not my girlfriend! I barely even know Takashita! Geez, mind your own business!" Kurosaki yelled at him.

Then he stormed off toward me while his friends turned to leave.

"Okay Ichigo, you have fun with your little girlfriend now okay?" The red-haired one shouted at him while laughing and walking away with the others.

I noticed that Toushirou gave me a weird look the entire time. I shrugged and focused on Kurosaki coming my way.

"Sorry, I didn't know you talking to me would cause you any trouble," I said when he walked up to me.

"Eh? Don't worry about it Takashita, that's just how my stupid friends are," Kurosaki said as he started walking; I followed beside him.

"So, what else do you want from me?" He asked, to which I smacked his arm in annoyance at the way his question was shot at me.

"Hey! What was that for Takashita?" He asked angrily.

"Respect your elders, baka! I may be smaller, but I'm freaking older than you, and therefore deserve respect!" I said, sticking out my tongue at him.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his arm.

"I saw you staring at us on the rooftop at lunch again today. Tell me something; is it me, or Toushirou that you have a crush on?" He smirked.

Instead of smacking his arm again, I punched him.

"I don't have a crush on either of you! That's not why I'm here, bakayaro! I'm here because I have a lot of questions that I _know_ you have the answers to!" I shouted in an angry mouthful.

"And if I refuse to answer them?" He asked.

I cracked my knuckles and looked at him with an evil glint in my eyes.

"Those little taps you felt just now are nothing compared to what I can really do." I said, smirking evilly.

I definitely was no match against Kurosaki—especially if he was possessed by something—but it worked; Kurosaki cringed a little and laughed a little nervously.

"All right Takashita, all right; I get it. So, what do you want to know?" He asked, gaining back his composure.

I smiled and started my questioning. I decided to evade questioning about the exorcism from yesterday; he already claimed that I was 'just seeing things,' so I decided to save it for later.

"First, what's your relationship to Toushirou?" I asked.

He smirked at me before answering that they were nothing more than mere friends; I continued.

"Second, what did Toushirou tell you today that made you jump back in surprise? You looked directly at me when you did, so I figured it was something about me. What was it?" I asked.

"It was nothing about you Takashita; he told me something else that's none of your business." He retorted; I grunted and continued.

"Fine, next question, what…happened yesterday?" I asked seriously.

He slowed his pace just a little, and stared at me for a moment before coughing and replying.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid, Kurosaki! It was written all over your face yesterday! When we were walking home, we both looked in the same direction and I know damn well you were feeling that same pressure-like feeling that I was, and I know you heard that roar or whatever it was too! Now tell me what that was, and tell the truth!" I said.

Kurosaki looked tense, but shook it off in a shrug again like he did yesterday.

"I don't know what you're talking about Takashita—"

"Bull shit!" I cut him off.

A look of surprise swept Kurosaki's features from my sudden outburst.

"You're lying! After we heard that roar yesterday and I asked you if you heard it, you asked me: _'Takashita, you heard that?'_ That's right buddy—I heard that! What roared like that? And that feeling—what was that? Why did you go running in that direction? And…and," I trailed off, clenching my fists.

"Why do I feel like this has happened before? Why does it feel like you and Toushirou are involved in this? And…why can't I remember what happened last week?" I spoke the last question more to myself than to Kurosaki.

Then, something weird happened.

My heart started beating really fast, and I started losing my vision.

Was I having a panic attack?

I heard someone call my name faintly in the distance, and then, it was kind of like time just stopped.

_It was suddenly dark and cold, and I felt something hot and steamy engulf my wet face. I opened my eyes and saw this…_ _**thing** _ _, with a white mask over it's face. It was staring directly at me with glowing red eyes. I wasn't moving; I was just sitting there on a swing, fear stricken._

_**"B-But, I'm not delicious in the least, y-you don't want me, I-I won't satisfy you,"** _

_**"Oh but yes you are…"** _

_**"Umai-chan,"** _

My eyes shot open and I gasped.

My heart was beating a mile a minute, and my breathing was rough and jagged.

I didn't quite have my vision back yet, but slowly the black was fading with light replacing it. When almost all of my vision returned, I heard Kurosaki calling my name.

"Takashita! Takashita! What the Hell? Are you okay?" He asked, shaking me a little bit; his tone desperate.

I calmed down; my breathing was still hard and my vision was still a little blurry, but I saw Kurosaki's worried brown eyes finally.

I shook my head and looked up at him.

"W-What happened?" I asked in a little above a whisper.

He helped me to my feet, and kept me stable until I was able to walk by myself.

"You started asking questions and then passed out. Did you eat today?" He asked, putting his hand on my forehead.

"Y-Yeah, I ate." I gulped.

I remembered exactly what I saw when I was passed out just now, and it shook me to my core; something just wasn't clicking though. How could I escape from a thing like that? There was no possible way I could, so how? _I wonder…_

"Hey Kurosaki,"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Toushirou was last Thursday and Friday night? And also, where were you on those days?" I asked; my breathing back to normal finally.

"I was at home, and as for Toushirou—what am I his keeper? I have no idea where he was at on those days. Why do you ask?" He responded.

"It's because…I can't remember anything about those two days. I don't remember what I said; did; nothing. I just remember waking up Saturday and thinking it was Thursday. And, I just have a feeling that, Toushirou was involved with those two days. I know it's weird, and I know I sound crazy, but it's just a gut feeling I have—I can't shake it. Ever since I saw him on the rooftop the other day, it hit me like a freaking baseball bat to the head. I just know that he is involved in some way with it."

I paused to look at him before continuing.

"And then I saw you, and you felt different—as if something was wrong with you. That aura we both felt yesterday when we were walking home; you had that too. Except yours was different; it didn't feel as malevolent. I can't explain it, but this all seems like it relates to last Thursday and Friday—like it relates to the reason why I can't remember anything. So please, do you know anything?" I pleaded.

I continued my gaze at Kurosaki with pleading eyes and saw that his face was devoid of any emotion. He was trying not to reveal anything to me—that much I knew for sure.

"Look, Takashita, don't ask me about this okay? You should ask Toushirou. I don't know anything." He said, trying not to make it seem like he was lying.

I saw straight through it. Although I was already used to disappointment, I couldn't help but actually let this one get to me. Maybe it was because I've never experienced a situation quite like this one—who knows. The bottom line was my high hopes felt smashed.

"Nice one, Kurosaki. Whatever, it's not like I'm not used to liars—I've dealt with them all my life. Hence one of the main reasons I don't have friends—beside the fact that no one wants to be mine anyway. But I forgive you anyway, and you know what? Maybe I just will ask Toushirou. I need to figure this out; even if it kills me. I'll see you later Kurosaki, this is my stop." I turned away from Kurosaki and started walking up my driveway without a word.

I didn't hear Kurosaki keep walking—I must've pissed him off. Oh well, it's not like I didn't do that to everyone all the time. I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. I looked back at the sidewalk where Kurosaki was standing, and found that he wasn't there. Maybe he could fly with his supernatural abilities—whatever. Today was over with, and Kurosaki was no help at all.

Would I ever be able to figure out what happened last weekend?


	3. Chapter 3

Thursday morning had come again, and this time, I would _for sure_ remember the day's events.

Something that was even surer was that I would confront Toushirou today and get to the bottom of this memory-loss, spirit-extracting, mess. I knew I was being over-the-top, but I couldn't just drop it and move on. When I wanted something this desperately, I sure as Hell gave it my all no matter what.

I paid little to no attention in my classes, and solely thought about what I would say to Toushirou later in the day.

I couldn't just waltz up and say: _'Hey Toushirou, I know you have something to do with my memory loss because you're some type of super natural entity—now spill,'_

It didn't feel right, but then again, would it be that easy if I got straight to the point like that?

I sighed and held up my head with my hand while staring out the window.

" _I really hope this works…"_

The bell for lunch rang, and I quickly threw my stuff in my bag, and rushed out of the classroom. Maybe if I got to the roof before he did, he wouldn't have a chance to evade me.

Almost tripping up the stairs, I made it to the rooftop and walked over to the ledge where Toushirou usually leaned against. No one was up there yet, so in the meantime I looked out towards the horizon; lost in my thoughts as usual.

I imagined the whole scene that was about to ensue as a dramatic movie scene. I won't get into details, but let's just say that it was surely not going to happen. But then again, I really wouldn't know what _would_ happen. What he would tell me, how I'd react, if things would go smoothly or disastrously—I just didn't know.

"You're that girl that talked with Kurosaki yesterday,"

I sharply inhaled and jumped back about a couple feet; he'd gotten there without me noticing—that's a new one.

He didn't make an reaction to my initial outburst, but calmly took the previous place I had occupied and leaned on the ledge. I coughed awkwardly to regain my composure, then leaned on the ledge next to Toushirou.

"Geez, scare the crap out of me why don't you! I almost had a heart attack," I began.

"What do you want?" Toushirou bluntly asked, his tone annoyed and uncaring.

Oh, I _definitely_ didn't like this kid.

"Alright then, I'll get straight to the point. First off, I'm Takashita Azumi, I know who you are so there's no need to introduce yourself—"

"Wasn't planning on it." He interrupted.

Oh, this guy was just _asking_ for fist-to-face contact. But I kept my cool, didn't let his rudeness bother me, and continued.

"Anyway, I'm here looking for answers. Kurosaki told me that I should ask you rather than him. So, let me explain the situation to you first. There have been some strange things happening in my life recently. For instance: I woke up last Saturday morning without a clue of what happened last Thursday and Friday; I've been seeing, hearing, and feeling weird auras, and I have a really deep feeling in the pit of my gut that you have something to do with it." I stopped for a breath and looked at Toushirou; his teal eyes were slightly widened, and his facial expression was a somewhat shocked one—although he tried not to show it.

God I sounded like a maniac.

He turned away and looked out into the distance again—like he was in deep thought or something.

"And what would make you come to this conclusion? We've never met before, so how could you think I'm involved in your ridiculous-sounding situation?" He asked.

"First of all: it's not ridiculous—maybe crazy—but not ridiculous. And second of all: I can just sense you are. There's something that seems familiar about you although we've never met before. It's just that when I saw you up here on Monday, something about last Thursday and Friday just clicked in my head. Like a Déjà vu, if that's what you'd want to call it—"

"Taichou!" The orange-haired, blue-eyed girl that looked like a woman from before, sang while hugging an uncomfortable Toushirou from behind.

But, why would she call the boy

"Ooh, Taic—I mean, _Hitsugaya-kun_ , who's this?" She continued in her sing-song voice as she smiled and turned to face me.

"Ah, wait! You're that girl who was talking to Ichigo yesterday! His girlfriend right? Does he know you're cheating on him with Hitsugaya-kun here?" She cautiously looked around, and with a harsh whisper—that practically wasn't a whisper at all—said, "Don't worry, I won't say _a thing!_ " then she winked and giggled.

I blushed and looked away while in the meanwhile Toushirou was beyond pissed because he was being suffocated by her breasts.

"Matsumoto! Get off me right now!" He huffed angrily.

With a shove—a hard one might I add—he pushed Matsumoto away and tried to compose himself again. The thing that I couldn't quite figure out was: was he red because he was pissed, or was he red because he was blushing at what Matsumoto did and-or said? I coughed and Matsumoto made her way toward me next.

"Hi! I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, but you can call me Rangiku. What's your name, Hitsugaya-kun's girlfriend?" She smiled and pulled me and Toushirou into a gigantic bear hug—something that I definitely wasn't prepared for.

"Matsumoto!" Toushirou yelled.

"I-I'm not his girlfriend!" I stuttered while trying to breathe.

Rangiku's hug was suffocating the both of us—not to mention closing the distance between our heads. I finally decided what the best course of action was before it was too late—tickle-torture.

I tickled her side, and while she was laughing, Toushirou and I broke free from her suffocating hug before _the unspeakable_ almost happened. I stopped tickling her, and stopped to breathe for a minute. Rangiku finally stopped laughing, and asked again what my name was.

"Takashita Azumi. You can call me Azumi; I really don't care for formalities," I said, a small smile on my lips.

She squealed for some reason beyond my knowing, and kept asking questions.

"So how long have you known Hitsugaya-kun? How long have you been going out with Hitsugaya-kun? How old are you? Where do you live? How long have—"

"Rangiku! First of all, I'm not Toushirou's or Kurosaki's girlfriend; I haven't known Toushirou that long, and does it matter how old I am and where I live?" I questioned back, cutting her off.

"And who said _you_ can call _me_ by my first name?" Toushirou suddenly piped up before Rangiku could.

"I just said I don't care for formalities; I call people by what I feel like calling them by and I felt like calling you Toushirou. Problem?" I asked crossing my arms.

"Yes, probl—"

"Oh, so you and Tai—Hitsugaya-kun, aren't going out? And you're not going out with Kurosaki either? Hmm…" Rangiku stopped in thought, and it was then that I noticed all the other people from the other day were behind us.

"I thought I told you that she wasn't my girlfriend, Matsumoto!" Kurosaki added in.

"Yeah, it's not like _you_ can score a girl like that anyway, Ichigo." The bald guy spat confidently.

"I didn't ask for your damn opinion, Ikkaku!" Kurosaki spat back—I could tell there was some anger sparking up.

"Well you got it anyway, Ichi-Baka!" Ikkaku spat again.

And that last little comment turned into a big argument between the two about how Kurosaki could definitely score a girl like me, and Ikkaku not being able to and blah, blah, blah. I just stood wordlessly watching their stupidity. Finally Rangiku intervened by patting Ikkaku on his head, which completely ticked him off.

"Matsumoto! I'm not a damn dog! Don't pat me!" He yelled at the orange-haired girl.

She just smacked him again and didn't say anything. She coughed and then spoke to me again.

"Okay _Azumi-chan,_ this baldy here's Ikkaku, the guy with the red hair and tattoos is Renji, the guy with the black hair and feathers is Yumichika, the big guy's Chad, that orange-haired girl is Orihime, the guy with the glasses is Uryuu, the girl with black hair is Rukia, the other girl with shorter black hair is Tatsuki, and I forget the names of the others." Rangiku said in a mouthful.

I waved and then Rangiku proceeded with more questioning. I listened and responded to be polite, and because of that I list track of time and the bell rang. Damn it!

I turned back to Toushirou who had completely tuned out the conversation, and walked over to him again.

"This isn't over, Toushirou, I've only just begun!" I said seriously.

He didn't even look at me; just made a "tsk" noise in what appeared to be annoyance. With that, I left for my last two classes of the day.

There was no way I was going to let him get out of this one, damn it. I knew he had some answers, but I had a feeling it was going to take a lot to get him to confess. Beside that, what was with Rangiku calling him 'Taichou?' Taichou…taichou of what? This was going to be a long weekend.

I sighed and sat down in my math class, waiting for school to end so I could once again try to get to the bottom of this.

"Me _, Toushirou's girlfriend? Ha, yeah right—as freaking if! Toushirou's too stuck up, and he's a freshman to top it all off! He's younger than I am! That's like, against my code of dating rules! Not that I've ever dated anyone before…but Toushirou? What's Rangiku thinking? Although he is good-looking; I'll admit that. But we can't because we have_ way _different personalities, and plain out wouldn't get along for crap! So there. Also, the exorcism I saw yesterday poses a_ huge _problem. I'm not about the dating-a-demon-possessed-person life.'_ I concluded in my head.

The day ended, and for the third time this week, I found myself waiting at the gate for Kurosaki and the rest of them come out of. Geez this was getting old…

After waiting forever again, Kurosaki and the rest of them finally came out. I didn't move at all or make a hand gesture or call, and Kurosaki came up to me as usual. I chuckled at how this seemed to become an after school ritual each day.

"Takashita, wanna walk with us?" Kurosaki asked without even a 'hello'—I shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, but as you know, I have to talk to Toushirou," I replied.

Immediately Rangiku's ears perked up when I mentioned Toushirou. She smiled evilly, and then grabbed the white-haired shorty and pushed him toward me.

"Matsumoto!" Toushirou yelled again—I got the feeling he did that a lot.

"Azumi-chan needs to talk to you, so we'll give you two _love-birds_ your privacy," Rangiku smirked as she pushed everyone else forward and away from us.

"We're not love-birds!" Toushirou and I yelled at the same time; myself flailing like mad.

Geez, was this girl trying to get us to go out, or what? Without me noticing, Toushirou had already started to walk off.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" I shouted after him, catching up.

"Go away," Toushirou sighed in annoyance.

"No way! I told you that this wasn't over!" I replied.

"What's not over? There was nothing to begin with; just go away already." Toushirou continued walking while not looking at me.

"You know what, kid? I may not look it because I'm short as Hell, but I'm freaking older than you are. Respect your damn elders! Geez, would it freaking kill you to be nice?" I said, getting a pinch beyond irritated.

He made that 'tsk' noise again.

"You have no idea," He muttered to himself.

I let it slip this one time, but the next time he'd for sure get slapped upside his cocky white-haired head.

"Whatever, anyway, back to business," I began.

I told him everything I told Kurosaki; the memory loss, the strange noise and feelings, how Kurosaki and him left their bodies—everything. It was _incredibly awkward_ since I had just met the kid today, but I pushed myself to just keep going. As I explained, he just quietly listened without saying a single word.

"Look, first of all, there's obviously some bolts loose in that brain of yours, and second of all, even _if_ those things sounded relatively realistic, I wouldn't be apart of any of it, nor would I be able to help you in any way. So, you just go back to your fantasy world and leave me alone." Toushirou stopped and told me.

My hands curled into fists at my sides.

"But…I just…"

The truth was I didn't know what to say anymore; all that I wanted was answers. I knew that I was being a little obsessive about it, but damn! Wouldn't he want to know what happened if he was in my position? Toushirou claims that he doesn't know a thing, and is implying that I'm some crazy person that probably belongs in the crazy house—it's disappointing now.

"But, Kurosaki told me to ask you! The way he said it made it sound like you knew," I prompted, my voice faltering a little bit at the end of the sentence.

Toushirou muttered something to himself and sighed.

"Sorry, I can't help you. Go home." He stated, walking away again.

I was a mix of emotion; somewhat furious, somewhat sad, somewhat annoyed and hurt. All I wanted was to just know—that was all.

We were coming up on my house, and I stopped at my driveway. Toushirou stopped—big shocker—and looked at me. I didn't make eye contact; I just stood there for a moment in silence.

"Thanks anyway, Toushirou. I won't bother you again, sorry for the weirdness, and sorry for wasting your time." I turned on my heel and walked up my driveway.

I didn't look back; I just unlocked the door, went inside, and shut the door behind me.

Maybe I _was_ some crazy person that needed to be in an institute. Maybe Toushirou was lying and knew exactly what was going on. Maybe I was imagining everything. Maybe I was right. _Maybe_ …I should just keep to myself as I always do and keep my mouth shut along with my thoughts. Maybe I should do that, maybe I shouldn't, but, I guess that I ultimately should.

-[×]-

The rest of the night along with the next morning passed quickly, and lunch was already here again.

I didn't bother going to the roof or let alone even looking toward the roof—I just sat on my tree branch as I normally do, eating my sandwich.

I attempted listening to my music player to pass the time, but the last time I did that I got caught. If I wouldn't have ran, my music player would probably be locked away inside the principle's drawer right now. Good thing the staff member didn't know my name—amazingly.

"Hey! Azumi-chan!" A sing-song voice broke my absent-mindedness.

I almost slammed my face into my sandwich when my name was called—nobody _ever_ called my name at school.

I looked down to see Rangiku at the bottom of my tree, looking up at me with a smile spread across her lips. Surprised, I waved sheepishly before taking that bite of my sandwich.

"Hey Rangiku, what's up?" I greeted shyly after gulping down the bite.

Before she replied, she somehow climbed up the tree to my branch and sat down next to me. She was the first one beside myself that's ever—to my knowledge—been in this tree.

"Oh nothing! Just thought I'd come say hi to my new friend!" She said, pulling me into a _light_ hug this time.

' _My…friend?'_ I didn't quite know how to react to that.

"We're…friends?" I asked a little above a whisper.

"Of course we're friends, silly! If we weren't I wouldn't be here right now," she laughed and finally let me out of her hug.

"So, where're your friends, Azumi-chan?"

She looked around at the other nearby kids, scanning around the area before looking back at me; I chuckled.

"I don't really have any," I admitted with a sheepish smile.

Rangiku's jaw dropped and she immediately hugged me again—one of her death ones this time—and almost started crying.

"What! No friends? That's so sad Azumi-chan! You've never had any friends at all? You poor thing!" She whined.

Throughout her melodramatic outburst of my explanation, her death hug only got tighter and tighter with each sentence.

"R-Rangiku, don't worry, I-I'm fine. Y-You can l-let go now," I said with my last breath.

Just before stars clouded my vision, she finally let go.

"No; I'm going to worry! You're not fine! Come on, you can hang out with me and everyone else from now on, and we'll be your friends!" She prompted with a really huge grin.

"Rangiku, I don't want to bother you guys; don't worry about it. I'll be fine here by myself—really, it's okay—"

"I won't take 'no' for an answer!" Rangiku said as she shoved my stuff into my bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Come on, Azumi-chan!" She jumped off the branch.

"B-But Rangiku! I can't! You don't understand," I started while jumping off the tree branch; she awaited my explanation.

"I told Toushirou I wouldn't bother him anymore. So going to hang out with you guys would indeed _bother_ him _._ I don't want to do that."

I didn't know if Toushirou told her about what happened or not, but I wasn't going to take any chances and make her think I belonged in the crazy house too.

"Well I bother him all the time, so it's no big deal! Besides, like I said before—I'm not taking 'no' for an answer! Now let's go!" She smiled and grabbed my wrist and ran with me towards the rooftop.

" _Well, so much for not bothering him,_ " I thought and sighed.

We reached the rooftop when Rangiku finally let go of my wrist.

"Hey! Everyone!" Everyone looked at us.

"R _angiku, what the Hell are you doing?"_ I mentally screamed.

"From now on, Azumi-chan is going to hang out with us, and we're going to be her friends! Okay?" She said giggling and smiling innocently—much like a little girl would.

When no one said anything, that innocence quickly vanished and turned into something that I really didn't _ever_ want to see on Rangiku features again.

She coughed, " _Right guys?_ "She asked threateningly.

Everyone-including myself-cowered and nodded.

"Good!" She said, smiling innocently again.

" _Note to self: Don't get on Rangiku's bad side—ever."_

I sighed and followed her to the rest of the crowd.

"Hi Takashita-san!" Orihime said politely.

"Hi there; Orihime, right? Oh, and call me Azumi, I really don't care for formalities," I replied smiling a little.

"Yes, that's me! A-Azumi- _chan_?" She tried again.

"There you go! That's better, you're almost there." I smiled.

Orihime smiled sheepishly and then the others sat next to me and tried to make small talk while Rangiku was being her—what I now considered usual—outgoing and bubbly self.

The only thing I noticed was that Toushirou wasn't among us. He was at his ledge again, looking out at the scenery of Karakura town. I wondered why he was always by himself like that. I mean, I was like that too, but that was because I didn't have friends. He has friends but didn't really acknowledge that fact. Maybe he wanted his alone time? I didn't know.

My new friends and I—wow, that's a new one—talked for the remainder of lunch. Although it was mostly just questions about what I like to do, what music I listen to, and other stuff like that. The 'let's-get-to-know-you' stuff.

Rangiku told me to wait for them after school again today; that now I had friends to walk home with. All this was so new that I was confused as to whether I should show up or not. But, I knew that if I didn't, I'd probably make Rangiku sad, or worse—upset like earlier. That was definitely not something I'd want to experience first-hand, so, I guessed I'd be meeting them at the gate after school.

I leaned against my—now usual—spot against the gate and waited for my new _friends_ to show up. I was smart this time and listened to my music player _as_ I waited. I smirked triumphantly to myself as the next song on shuffle began to play. I drummed on my legs to the beat of the song, and very well knew that I probably looked like an moron in doing so, but oh well. I continued nonetheless, and finally when the song was near its end they showed up. I took out one earphone and kept the other one in to finish the song before they closed in on me.

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku's naturally perky voice called out.

I smirked and joined them in their little—or should I say big—group. Rangiku started walking again with her arm linked with mine.

"So, Azumi-chan, how was your day?" She smiled.

"Uh, good?" I shrugged.

"Good! Well, since today's Friday, I figured us girls should have ourselves a good old-fashioned sleepover!" She said.

"S-Sleepover? You mean where all of us get together and spend the night at someone's house? So soon?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah! The sooner the better!" She replied.

Oh boy, was I prepared for that one. Rangiku looked at me awaiting my answer, and although I wanted to say no, I couldn't just crush her spirits. Even _I_ wasn't that bad. I thought carefully before I answered.

"And, whose house is this going to be at?" I asked.

"Orihime-chan's! Is that okay Orihime-chan?" She looked to Orihime who immediately nodded.

"Who's all going to be there?" I asked.

"Let's see…you, me, Orihime-chan, maybe Rukia-chan and Tatsuki-chan, and Hitsugaya-kun too," She responded to me while inviting all of them to come at the same time; they agreed.

I snuck a peek behind my shoulder and saw Toushirou flinch and sigh. With an eyebrow raised, I quietly whispered to Rangiku.

"And why would Toushirou be there? I thought it was all girls?" I asked.

"Um…long story short, Hitsugaya-kun's my cousin and lives with me because his parents died in a horrible car accident, and we're currently staying at Orihime's place because…uh…my parents travelled abroad and didn't trust us at our house by ourselves! And since they know Orihime from way back, and know she's responsible, they let us stay with her at her house! Yeah!" Rangiku concluded.

It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself rather than me. And because of that, I definitely didn't believe her. But, for now, I guess I'll just have to trust that she's telling the truth; although it definitely sounded really shady.

"Oh, umm, okay then. So Toushirou's your cousin? Didn't know that...you guys definitely don't look it." I said; Toushirou made that "tsk" noise again at my comment.

"Well…yeah…but anyway! Can you come?" Rangiku subject changed.

"Um, I don't know; I'd have to ask my parents," I replied.

"Okay! We'll go with you!" Rangiku said with her excitement still dripping in her words.

"O-Okay, well, we're coming up on my house right now anyway, so I guess we can just ask now?" I asked more to myself then them.

Rangiku agreed and followed me up the driveway. My Dad's truck was parked in the driveway; signaling that he was home early for once—this should be interesting. I reached into the pocket of my school bag and with difficulty, snagged my keys out and unlocked the door.

"Chill out and wait for a second, okay?" They nodded their heads in agreement.

Apparently all the girls were the only ones that followed me up my driveway; the guys were all waiting on the sidewalk, Toushirou staring blankly off into space. I sighed and walked in to see my parents both in the kitchen—as usual—talking about their day and what not.

"Mom? Dad?" I called. "I'm home,"

I let the other girls go into the living room while I went into the kitchen.

"Hi Azumi," my Mom pecked the top of my head with a kiss, "how was your day?"

"Hey Mom, it was alright, but anyway, umm..."

For some reason I kind of found it hard to ask if I could spend the night at a friend's house; thinking that the answer would be a strict and straight up 'no'.

"Dad, why are you home so early?" I changed the subject.

" _Nice way of getting to the point."_ I mused in my head.

"The day ended early; the job we were working on is finished," he replied.

"Oh, that's good," I smiled.

"Umm, I was wondering...do you guys think I could spend the night at my friend Orihime's house tonight? Her and some other friends of mine are actually sitting on the couch right now and—"

"What? _You_ brought guests? Shame on you for just abandoning them! Girls!" My Mom chimed and walked out into the living room; my Dad trailing close behind.

"Guys—or, _girls—_ these are my parents. Mom, Dad, meet Rangiku, Rukia, Orihime and Tatsuki."

"So nice to meet you girls! I'm so glad that Azumi finally found some friends!" My Mom said excitedly while shaking everyone's hand.

I sighed and smacked my head in annoyance.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Takashita!" Orihime bowed formally.

The others said their 'hellos' as well, and then Rangiku finally chirped in.

"Umm, Mr. and Mrs. Takashita, we were wondering if Azumi-chan could spend the night at Orihime-chan's house tonight with the rest of us; we figured it would be the best way to get to know Azumi-chan better. Do you think that would be okay?" Rangiku asked.

My Mom's smile widened and she immediately turned to me in that excited way she always did.

"Of course she can! Azumi, go get ready so that you can just go with them right now! That way you don't have to make them wait or anything! Hurry! Go pack!"

My Mom was probably more excited than I was about this—I held back a chuckle at her antics.

"Okay, okay! I will, Mom—calm down! Umm, did you guys just want to give me directions to Orihime's house? That way the guys outside don't have to wait for me to pack and all that," I suggested, although my Mom's ears perked up when I said the word 'guys.'

"Guys? Are there going to be guys at this sleep over?" My Mom asked Rangiku while sneaking a peek through the blinds.

I noticed my Dad said nothing this entire time—probably wanting to go into the kitchen to get a beer or something.

"Nope, just us girls!" Rangiku lied.

I snickered at the thought of Toushirou being a girl—Hah!

"Okay, just being sure as a mother you know," my Mom smiled sheepishly.

My Mom waved me over to her, and I obediently obeyed.

"Yeah?"

"Who's the boy with the white hair?" She asked judt above a whisper and pointed—making it painfully obvious.

"That's Toushirou, why?" I asked back in a whisper while looking at Toushirou; he was the only one standing up—everyone else sat on my lawn.

From the corner of my eye I saw my Mom's mouth curl upwards in a smirk.

"He's cute,"

"Mom!" I shouted, completely flushed.

All heads shot in my direction.

I turned away with a little redness streaked across my cheeks, and then fake coughed to try to regain my composure.

"Anyway, just give me directions to your house, and I'll be there at 5 p.m.; okay?" I told Orihime.

"Okay, sounds great!" She replied, taking out a piece of paper.

She took about a minute scribbling down either directions, or drawing a map to her house—I couldn't tell. She folded the paper up and handed it to me, then they said their 'goodbyes' and 'nice meeting you' to my parents and left with the guys.

Once I shut the door, my Dad started belly-laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, sending a small glare.

After he took a breath to regain his composure, he replied.

"The look on your face when your Mom mentioned that boy— _fucking_ priceless,"

"Dad!" I whimpered.


	4. Chapter 4

"Now I turn right on this street and the house should be...that one!"

I followed Orihime's drawn map to her house and it turned out that she lived semi-close to me. It was actually only ten streets down—give or take a street. I read the apartment numbers listed and finally found hers. I walked up the stairs and double checked the number before knocking rhythmically on the door.

I waited for a few seconds and heard no response coming from the inside. I put my bag down and tried rapping at the door again, but as I was about to hit the door, it opened and I almost knocked on Orihime's head.

"Hi Azumi-chan! Come on in," Orihime greeted enthusiastically.

I took my hand back and greeted her sheepishly, then got my bag and walked inside after her. Oh man, just what have I gotten myself into?

We immediately stepped into the living room—which was pretty well kept—and I took a quick glance around. It consisted of a television, a few windows, a small table, and a few rugs here and there along with pillows. It was connected to the kitchen at the other side of the room, and you could partially see inside it.

All the attendees had already arrived and were in the living room. Rangiku and Rukia were seated on the pillows at the table while Tatsuki was sitting on the floor next to them. I didn't see Toushirou, but I knew he was around here somewhere—not that I cared. Upon hearing our entrance, all heads looked up from the television screen to us.

"Umm, hi?" I smiled.

Rangiku immediately got up and tackled me in another one of her death hugs. Geez, what was with this girl and her hugs? I attempted hugging back, but I couldn't quite wrap my arms around her since I was being squished.

"Azumi-chan! You actually came! Hi! I'm so happy you're here!" Rangiku squealed.

"H-Hi R-Rangiku," I managed to breathe out.

"Let her go already, Matsumoto."

Rangiku immediately dropped me and I immediately inhaled like I came up out of water.

"Aw but Hitsugaya-kun! I was just saying hello!" Rangiku pouted.

"Well with hugs like that, the next thing you'd be saying to her is goodbye, baka." Toushirou said, sitting at the table with a cup of hot tea.

I coughed a little and silently thanked my savior while standing up again. I said hello to everyone, and Orihime directed me to where I could leave my stuff. After getting my stuff situated, she showed me around the house briefly before we sat down on the living room floor near the others. They were all apparently sucked into some romance soap opera—oh geez. Orihime suddenly piped up.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, Rangiku and I are going to make dinner!" Orihime announced.

All faces besides mine, Rangiku and Orihime's turned into complete fear. Confused, I crept up to Rukia.

"What's the matter with everyone?" I asked.

She looked down at me and quickly pulled me up closer to herself in panic.

"Their cooking is horrible! They both mix disgusting combos like: fish heads with chocolate, or pickles with bean paste and ice cream and expect you to eat it! And if you don't, you'll never hear the end of it!" Rukia whispered.

"We are so screwed." Tatsuki urgently whispered.

"I'm not eating." Toushirou suddenly added in.

Oh God this sounded horrible.

I jumped up from my seat immediately; all heads turned to me.

"Umm...how about I order a pizza?" I came up with on the fly.

"Yeah! I've got some extra money I brought, and I want to buy it because I'm glad that I have you guys as friends! Yes! I insist! Sound good?" I tried to sound convincing.

I really didn't want them thinking that I didn't want to eat their cooking—although it killed the little funds I had.

Everyone looked back to Orihime and Rangiku.

"Sure Azumi-chan!" Orihime accepted.

Everyone including Toushirou sighed in relief.

I chuckled little, and walked over to my things to get my phone. Once we decided what we wanted—pepperoni with a side of pickles, anchovies, peanut butter and cinnamon for Rangiku and Orihime—the delivery man came with the pizza.

"Dinner!" I announced; putting the boxes of pizza and the liter of soda on the table.

As if on cue, everyone gathered at the table to get the pizza while I paid the delivery man. I went back to the table to see three confused faces. Orihime and Tatsuki had already taken a slice and were ecstatic about it while Rukia, Rangiku and Toushirou had yet to take theirs. I took a bite of my slice while looking quizzically at the three.

"What's with the faces?" I asked, which perked up the attention of Orihime and Tatsuki.

Rukia crossed her arms and closed her eyes—her head sheepishly facing away from mine.

"Umm...truth be told, I've never eaten pizza," she said.

I almost choked on my bite.

"Excuse me?" I shouted dramatically.

"Rangiku, Toushirou— _don't tell me_ —you guys too?"

Rangiku looked away slightly blushing and giggling while Toushirou sat there wordlessly.

"Oh Hell no! Not acceptable! You have to eat some right now! It's so good!" I mused; getting them each a slice.

"Consume this right now!" I urged dramatically, shoving the pizza for them each to grab.

"Yeah seriously! I can't believe you guys have _never_ eaten pizza before!" Tatsuki agreed; Orihime and her nodding their heads.

"Pizza is the reason for my existence. Without pizza, life is meaningless." I proclaimed without missing a beat.

Rangiku laughed and looked at the slice on her plate a little hesitantly, but eventually took a bite. Toushirou and Rukia watched to see her reaction.

"...It's so good!" She squealed and took another bite.

Toushirou and Rukia eventually did the same; although their expressions weren't like those of Rangiku. I laughed and continued eating my slice.

After a while, everyone except Toushirou was sitting in the living room watching the television. Something was off though, and finally I realized exactly what was wrong with this picture.

"Hey Orihime, where are your parents?" I asked.

Her mood plummeted downhill all of a sudden, but she immediately put up an 'easy-going' front—I guess I shouldn't have asked.

"My parents passed a long time ago; my older brother and I lived together for a while, but then he passed away too," she replied, suddenly becoming extremely interested at her hands.

She was doing a somewhat of a good job in keeping it together, but I wouldn't have blamed her if she couldn't.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I began.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm adopted. I don't know who my real parents are, but I guess it can't really compare to your situation—nevertheless I'm sorry about your parents and brother." I said earnestly.

"No, don't worry about it Azumi-chan; you didn't know. But, being adopted is pretty sad as well—at least I think so..." Orihime frowned.

Somehow the television was now a low hum in the background and the other three girls sitting around us were listening to our somewhat heartfelt conversation intently. We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Anyway! Girl time!" Rangiku squeaked trying to change the atmosphere.

I smiled at her enthusiasm—until the topic she brought up turned it into a sheepish frown.

"Okay... _boys_ ," Rangiku smirked with an evil glint in her eyes.

"Azumi-chan!"

" _Oh great, here we go..."_ I mentally braced myself.

"You got a boyfriend?" Rangiku smirked.

The 4 of them gathered up close, leaning on each other to hear what I had to say. Great, here comes the part where I spill my unsuccessful love-life that I really didn't want to get into. Or I could just take the simple route…

"Nope."

Everyone lost balance and fell on top of each other; I smirked.

Coughing, Rukia straightened herself up and regained her composure.

"So, have you never had a boyfriend before?"

"Nope." I answered again.

Rangiku suddenly smirked again; this time wider and more evil.

"So Azumi-chan... _any crushes_?"

"No," I replied a little too quickly.

Rangiku's mischievous smirk was starting to scare me.

"Hmm, and none for a certain white-haired boy named Hitsugaya perhaps?"

Damn; because I didn't see that one coming...

"Toushirou? Puh-lease! Like that would ever happen!" I said a little too fast _again_.

"Then why are you blushing?" She asked.

'" _I'm blushing? Oh great! Thanks for the betrayal, you stupid face! Ugh!"_

I looked away fast to try to hide the scarlet rapidly spreading across my cheeks, but to no avail. Thank God Toushirou wasn't here to see this...

" _Wait a second...I like him?! Bull freaking crap! I do not! I'm only blushing because of the fact that it would be_ weirder _than Hell if that were to ever happen! Geez!"_

"Oh ho, nothing to say Azumi-chan?" Rangiku and the others smirked again.

"I don't like him! You got it all wrong! I'm blushing because of the fact that it would be ridiculous if we were ever together! Geez!" I huffed, looking away with my arms crossed.

A symphony of giggles then erupted behind me, and all of a sudden Rangiku wrapped me in another one of her infamous death-hugs.

"R-Rangiku!" I stuttered.

"Aw! You guys would totally make a cute couple and you know it! Don't worry Azumi-chan; I'll get Hitsugaya-kun to warm up to you! Trust me!" Rangiku said in a sing-song voice.

"T-That won't be necessary, R-Rangiku; now let me go before I keel over and die!" I shouted with my last breath; she finally let go.

"And anyway, we all heard what happened earlier with your Mom anyway; so don't try to deny it Azumi-chan!" Tatsuki smiled innocently while the other three nodded in agreement.

"B-B-B-But, that's not the case! I barely even know your cousin anyway! How could I possibly like him in such a short period of time?" I asked a little nervously—great.

"Love at first sight?" Orihime chimed in dreamily, a faint scarlet rising in her cheeks.

I smiled at her innocence and scooter closer to her.

"Orihime, is there any one that you like?" I asked the orange-haired girl as a diversion to move the spotlight away from me.

Her faint blush then turned into a bright one as she became interested with her hands again.

"U-Umm, well, I...you could—well, I-I don't know," She stammered, still blushing heavily.

I wasn't the type to pressure people, so I left it alone for the time being—although Rangiku and the others proceeded to bombard her with questions anyway.

"Just leave her you guys; she doesn't want to talk about it okay?" I said softly, breaking the other three girl's rants.

Orihime smiled at me and mouthed a thank you before returning to twiddling her thumbs. I smiled and patted her back before keeping my hands to myself again.

"And what about you, Rukia-san?" Tatsuki asked, a hidden smirk on her lips.

Then it was Rukia's turn to blush. I started laughing at how a simple question could cause a person to blush—myself included. The question went around a few times; and even came back to me—although I refused to answer, being the stubborn ox I am, ha.

Eventually when all the 'girl talk' was over, Rangiku decided that we should play truth or dare. And guess what? She found Toushirou—wherever he was—and dragged him into playing, although he did put up quite a struggle. We sat in a circle; from Rukia it went to Tatsuki, then Orihime, then me, then Toushirou, and then Rangiku.

Is it any wonder that I'd get stuck next to Toushirou? Geez, freaking Rangiku!

"Okay! Now that everyone's here! Lets begin!" Rangiku stated.

"Here's the rules: If you're dared to do something, and don't do it, you have to drink two shots of sake. If you pick truth, and we think you're lying, you take only one shot of sake. Any questions?" She smirked, audibly putting her bottle of sake at the table.

"Matsumoto, I thought we agreed you wouldn't drink. We all know what happens when you drink," Toushirou said as he crossed his arms.

Suddenly I was afraid.

"Aw, come on Hitsugaya-kun! Loosen up a bit!" Rangiku patted his back—or should I say whacked; I laughed at his expression.

"Matsumoto," Toushirou growled, a spark of anger clearly shown on his face.

"Anyway! Let's begin!" Rangiku said before Toushirou could object.

I heard Toushirou mutter 'why am I here?' under his breath with a sigh. I gave out a small giggle at his sigh, and then listened to Rangiku.

"Okay! I'll go first," Rangiku began, "Orihime-chan, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Orihime said hesitantly.

Apparently she didn't want to do something ridiculous in front of everyone—I don't blame her.

"Okay, hmm...do you have a crush on Ichigo?"

Damn, that was pretty blunt.

My widened eyes snapped to Orihime at the question; she blushed a heavy shade of red, and immediately grabbed the shot glass and drank it's contents. Rangiku laughed and poured another shot for the next chicken in our group.

I patted Orihime's back with a sympathetic look while she drank the intoxicating liquid. She let out a heavy breath, and after letting the content go down a little, finally got back into the game.

"O-Okay, Tatsuki-chan! Truth or dare?" She asked.

"Dare!" Tatsuki exclaimed, ready to do whatever Orihime threw at her.

"All right! I got it!" Orihime exclaimed after thinking for a little bit.

"I dare you to do two back flips and then somersault back to us!" Orihime smiled triumphantly at her dare.

It wasn't much of a dare, but what could you expect Orihime to dish out? She was too nice for her own good.

"Ha, no problem! Watch this!" Tatsuki said, and then she actually did do two back flips and the somersaulting.

My mouth went agape watching her. How the Hell could she do that? I knew she was athletic and all, but damn! I couldn't do that without busting my head open. I sighed at my un-athletic-ness.

"All right! My turn," Tatsuki said, "Hitsugaya-san! Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Toushirou said.

"Okay then, is what Rangiku-san said about you having an obsession with candy, true?"

Toushirou immediately glared at Rangiku who was laughing hysterically. The thing that we weren't paying attention to was that she was already drinking the sake. Oh boy, here we go.

"No." Toushirou tried to play it cool with his usual emotionless face.

"Has the jury reached the verdict?" Rangiku laughed and asked.

Everyone nodded. At the same time we all put our hands out to the middle and did a thumbs-down while Rangiku and I made an "eant" noise. I laughed while Toushirou was surprised and mad at our verdict.

"Here you go, Hitsugaya-kun," Rangiku smirked handing the shot glass to him.

In one swift movement, Toushirou drank the sake, and we waited for his reaction. He twitched and held his throat while he coughed. Oh God, I had never laughed so hard at a reaction.

"All right...it's your turn Hitsugaya-kun," Rangiku said in between laughs.

"I'll pass," Toushirou said.

"But Hitsugaya-kun! You're killing it! Come on, please!" Rangiku said with an overly dramatic voice, clinging on to Toushirou.

"Fine! Just get off me!" Toushirou said with a grunt.

"Hooray!" Rangiku squealed and took her seat.

"Kuchiki, pick." Toushirou said in his pissed-off voice, muttering the last part to himself.

"Dare!" Rukia exclaimed.

"I _dare you_ to take your turn." Toushirou said, before crossing his arms with a light smirk.

How did I know he would dish out something like that?

"Aw, Hitsugaya-kun! You're no fun at all!" Rangiku sighed as Toushirou smirked and didn't say anything.

"Okay fine," Rukia started, "Matsumoto-san! Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Rangiku answered excitedly.

"I dare you to open the window, and scream something secret about yourself at the top of your lungs!" Rukia smirked.

"Ha, no problem!" Rangiku waved it off with her hand.

She then got up, went to the nearest window and screamed: "I am not a size D; I'm a size G!"

"Oh geez...how'd I know?" I shook my head and laughed.

Toushirou crossed his arms and sighed which made me want to laugh even more. After everyone finished laughing, Rangiku came and took her spot back at the circle.

"All right! My turn!" She said. "Azumi-chan, truth or dare?"

"Dare." I replied quickly, smirking.

I was ready to show everyone that I wasn't a wuss that stuck to truth just so I wouldn't have to do anything embarrassing. I could take it! I was ready to take whatever was thrown at me!

"Lovely," Rangiku smirked.

I at that moment realized why she dragged Toushirou into playing.

Before I could back out, she continued.

"Azumi-chan, I dare you to kiss Hitsugaya-kun on the lips." She grinned while a bunch of gasps filled the room.

"Matsumoto!" Toushirou and I shouted in unison.

"What the Hell?" I shouted, my eyes as wide as saucers. "There's _no way_ I'm kissing Shirou here!" I pointed.

" _Shirou_?" Toushirou yelled at me, completely offended.

"That's right! You heard me!" I exclaimed back.

Before he could retort, Rangiku interrupted.

"What are you... _chicken_?"

The other three girls gasped.

I couldn't help but blush from embarrassment.

"N-No! I'm no chicken," I sat back down, crossing my arms, "I picked dare, which therefore means that I most certainly am not a chicken!" I concluded.

"Then do it then," Rangiku countered.

My eyes shot down to my hands at her counter attack. After a second, and I looked at Toushirou; his face held the same expression.

I closed my eyes and furrowed my eyebrows in thought, a blush—without a doubt—rising on my face.

" _Freaking Rangiku! What the hell should I do?"_ I argued in my head.

"Well Azumi-chan, what's your answer?" Rangiku asked after a few moments, an evil chuckle accompanying the sentence.

"S _hit, shit, shit! What do I do? I want to prove that I'm not a chicken, but that means kissing Toushirou! And then taking the two shots just proves that I'm a wuss! No! I'm tough! I won't fall this easily!"_

"Ne, Azumi-chan?" Rangiku asked again.

I could hear Toushirou starting to get up. "This game is ridiculous, why did I let you drag me into this?" he started ranting at Rangiku.

I closed my eyes again and ran my hand down my face, pulling some of my features as my hand descended. I exhaled loudly, and finally opened my eyes.

"You better not take this personally!" I shouted and pointed at Toushirou.

Then in one swift motion, I stood up, grabbed Toushirou by his shirt, and kissed him on the lips—almost head-butting him in the process.

After a second, I pulled back at lightning speed, and sat back down without looking at Toushirou.

I was blushing like freaking crazy.

I could still feel the sensation of Toushirou's lips on mine; the warm, soft feeling still lingering. I closed one eye, and with the other, I dared a peek at Toushirou.

His expression was...definitely a mixture of emotions hidden underneath his blush. I couldn't quite make any of them out beside shock. Suddenly he finally came to his senses and snapped himself out of it, then promptly started yelling at me.

"What the Hell?" He shouted, getting in my face.

"I had to! I'm not a chicken, damn it! I told you not to take it personally!" I shouted back at him, also getting in his face.

"You could've just taken the two shots! You didn't have to do that, bakayaro!"

"Then that'd make _me a chicken, baka_!" And with all the shouting and fighting, I didn't realize that we were practically butting each other's head in fury.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, kiddies! If you guys want an instant replay, do it in the other room so that the rest of us can play the game," Rangiku smirked and laughed.

"Teme!" Toushirou and I shouted at the same time while pointing and glaring at Rangiku. She burst out in hysterics along with everyone else in the room.

"I'm gonna kill you!" We both shouted again, and then tried to tackle her.

Before impact, she managed to escape, and ran away down the hallway to the back room and locked the door behind her.

"Get your ass out here!" I shouted, pounding at the door; Toushirou doing the same beside me.

"You two were soooo cute! You were both cherry red during that after-kiss awkward silence!" She laughed.

"Matsumoto!" Toushirou shouted again.

I couldn't believe I got roped into this awkward situation; a good strangle ought to make up for it.

"Oi! Enough you guys! We're bored! Let's watch a movie!" Rukia came and dragged Toushirou and I away from the door.

"Great idea, Rukia-chan!" Rangiku walked through the door, as if completely forgetting everything that just happened.

Rukia finally let us go, and we watched Rangiku walk past us like nothing.

" _She is so gonna get it later!"_ I mused in my head.

I heard a sigh from Toushirou, and turned to look on instinct. We stared at each other in silence for a second, then looked away; our arms crossed with a "hmph" and blushes on our faces. Toushirou walked to the door, put on his shoes, and left somewhere.

All of a sudden, guilt panged in my chest—geez, what a night.

Rangiku then decided that we'd watch a scary movie; scary movies are definitely not my forte! Nevertheless, she put in a movie that she claimed was foreign and popular; therefore we watched it. Okay, I'd heard about the movie, and they said it wasn't _that_ scary, so I wasn't too afraid to watch it. It's the damn suspense that gets me; that's all. We each grabbed our pillows and got comfortable as we watched the movie.

I held my pillow closely and pressed my face down on it; my eyes still uncovered to watch. It had only been an hour that the movie played, and I wanted it to be over already—it scared me. I know I probably sounded like a wimp, but I didn't care! I hate scary movies!

_The main character—Joanna Walker—walked into the upstairs bedroom on the third floor, and quietly shut the door behind her. Her stopwatch was still running as she tried to deceive the man on the phone to stay on the line for at least one minute so the police could track him. Her body trembling and her breaths ragged, she walked closer to the bathroom door; the shower turned on inside. She looked at her stopwatch again—she still needed more time. She walked closer to the bathroom; the man's eerie breathing on the phone getting louder._

_"Please, I mean, t-there has to be a reason why you keep on calling me." She paused, breathing heavily again._

_"I mean, if you're not trying to scare me, then what do you want?"_

_The music stopped; silence._

_"...your blood, all over me."_

Suddenly, a loud crash—in real life—boomed from outside, causing us to scream and hide ourselves in our pillows.

What was intended to be a not-so-scary part of the movie quickly turned scary due to the sudden jolt we all felt. The power went out; pitch black darkness flooded our vision; a roar echoed in the distance. I clutched my pillow tighter, and asked the question that no doubt all of us were thinking.

"W-What was that?" I whimpered.

I saw the faint outline of Rangiku's figure stand up and quickly walk to the door. "I have to go find my cousin before something bad happens!" she said, opening the door and running out.

"I'm going too; to make sure nothing happens to them!" Rukia said, running out after her.

"R-Rangiku! Rukia!" I said after about a million years; it finally clicking in my head that they left.

"It's okay, Azumi-chan. They'll be fine; I promise," Orihime tried to reassure.

If it wasn't for the unison roars I heard as she said that, I would have totally been assured.

"What's making that sound?" Tatsuki suddenly asked, growing impatient and worried as well.

Orihime somehow found a flashlight, set it in the middle of the floor, and pointed it toward the ceiling.

"I-I don't know!" Orihime said a little too fast.

I suddenly grew a little suspicious of her. I heard another roar again, but this time it sounded like one of agony—painful almost—and it was dangerously close to us.

I ran to the window despite Orihime's plea of staying away, and saw something that was too good to be true—or should I say too horrible?

Outside the window near the electrical wires was a huge Hollow.

Suddenly, my body froze and my mind blanked on everything going on; only one question remained in my head.

" _Hollow…where did I get that word from?_ "

This scene...felt familiar somehow.

"Azumi-chan! Get out of the way!" Orihime pushed me behind her and threw her arms out protectively.

I was too lost in thought to see that the _H-Hollow_ , had spotted me and was about to attack through the window.

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Orihime shouted.

Her hairpins instantly glowed bright yellow, and three fairy-looking creatures emerged to formed a yellow triangle shield in front of her. The Hollow's gigantic hand crashed straight into it through the window; I shrieked and jumped back while Orihime stood her ground and blocked the Hollow.

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime called urgently.

All of a sudden, a scream of pain was heard and the Hollow's arm fell off and disintegrated. Rukia climbed in through the window.

"Is everyone okay?" She asked sternly, her katana resting in her right hand.

"Yes, we're fine; thank you Kuchiki-san," Orihime replied smiling, answering for the rest of us.

Okay, yes; I was physically fine, but mentally I wasn't so sure. This was going to take some serious therapy to get rid of.

"There's quite a group out there, so just stay here for now, got it? And don't let your guard down, Orihime!" Rukia ordered before turning on her heel and jumping out the window.

"Got it!" Orihime replied obediently, her force field thing disappearing along with the three fairies.

"What the Hell is going on?" I shouted, frustrated. Orihime turned her head to face me and gave me an apologetic look.

Suddenly, amidst all of the Hollow roars and outcries, my vision blurred and a scene started to play in my head.

_**I was walking home from school. A Hollow came out of nowhere and grabbed me and I dangled over it's mouth. Something flew into me; I landed on the pavement. The Hollow died. A white-haired boy stood in it's place.** _

_**"W-Who are you?"** _

_**"Hitsugaya Toushirou."** _

_**"Wait!"** _

_**The Coffee shop. A dark alley.** _

_**"Afraid not,"** _

_**Flash.** _

I twitched back to reality with my name being called by Orihime.

As I regained my vision; her scared and worried facial expression the first thing I saw.

"Azumi-chan!" Orihime said relieved; giving me a hug.

"Thank goodness," she said, tightening the hug before letting go.

I said nothing.

I sat there, lost in my thoughts.

I looked around and saw Rukia, Rangiku and Toushirou in the room with strange shihakushou uniforms on; Toushirou's with a white haori on top of his.

I looked at Tatsuki who was sitting in a corner; arms wrapped around her legs in a fetal position. Toushirou walked up to her and pulled out a candy dispenser from his pocket. He put it in front of Tatsuki's face, then pressed a button that caused it to emit a bright white flash. Tatsuki's pupils shrank from the sudden brightness, and she immediately relaxed and passed out.

My eyes widened upon the sight, and it all became clear.

"Do you see, Matsumoto? I told you that bringing them wouldn't be a good idea," Toushirou said irritated, getting up from his crouched position.

"Hai Taichou, I'm sorry. I didn't expect anything like this to happen," Rangiku replied, her face regretful.

Toushirou then made his way toward me, and stuck the candy dispenser in front of my face.

I smacked his hand; sending the candy dispenser flying across the room.

"You...you _liar_!"


	5. Chapter 5

Silence overwhelmed the room.

All eyes focused on the scene that I had just made, and the harshly-toned words that I had just said.

It was all very clear to me then; I knew exactly what had happened, and why I lost my memories last weekend. I'd been such a fool—trusting these people; everything they've told me was a lie. The first friends I'd ever gotten, and this is what happened—I should've known.

Toushirou's teal orbs lowered their gaze as he took his smacked hand back—he didn't say a word. I grunted in irritation as nobody cared to explain. But then again, even if they did explain, would it just be another lie? Would they be decent humans and actually tell the truth for once? I doubted it.

"Azumi-chan," Rangiku began but stopped, losing her words.

"You know what?" I began.

"This is what's gonna happen: you guys are going to tell me what the Hell is going on, why you erased my memories _and lied_ , and then I'm gonna walk out of here without saying another word. We clear?" I stated venomously.

Toushirou crossed his arms. "And why should we tell you?"

"Because using your fancy candy dispenser to wipe my memories away will prove to be useless. I remember exactly what happened last time down to the very last words that came out of your mouth. We were at the coffee shop and you took me into a dark alley to use your mind-eraser on me! So if you use that again, history will inevitably repeat itself—if you catch my drift," I shot back, crossing my arms.

"And plus, if you guys are remotely anything like _normal_ human beings with a _normal_ well-working conscious, then lying this much should be making you all feel pretty damn guilty right about now! But then again, who the Hell knows? Toushirou and Kurosaki stepped out from their bodies the other day—like the _damn devil—_ with no problem at all, so Hell, maybe you guys aren't even human." I said frustrated.

"Taichou, we should tell her. With her reiatsu, Hollows will be attracted to her and won't leave her alone. I wanted her to spend the night with us so that I could monitor her to make sure she doesn't get hurt with that reiatsu of hers, and now it's confirmed; she can't go on like this." Rangiku paused.

"Also, Taichou, I really…" she paused again, looking up at me briefly before back at Toushirou. "I really don't want my friend to get hurt," Rangiku pleaded.

She really did look like she was sorry—not that I cared; I was too furious to care.

Toushirou sighed.

"You have a point; I was going to go about monitoring her in another way, but with what's happened now, I really don't see any other option." Toushirou replied.

Reluctantly, he began explaining the situation while the three of them remained silent.

He told me about a place called Soul Society, Shinigami, Hollows, and about a man named Aizen who was a former captain of the Gotei 13 that deceived them and took two other captains named Gin and Tousen to go rule with him in a place called Hueco Mundo. There was this thing called a Hougyoku that was hidden inside of Rukia that Aizen stole before making off to Hueco Mundo. He explained that Hueco Mundo is where the Hollows live and there are several different forms of them. I forget all the names he listed, but two that stuck out were Arrancar and Espada. Aizen plans on using the Hougyoku to make more of these Arrancar, and take over Soul Society and the World of the Living.

The ones that have been attacking me were regular Hollows, and they've only been attacking me because of my high reiatsu—which is spirit energy that only some people have. Aizen also plans to destroy Karakura town so he could make something called 'The Ouken' so he can assassinate the King of Soul Society, and rule everyone and everything. It was hard for me to comprehend all of it, but I somewhat got the main picture.

Toushirou was the Taichou of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13 and Rangiku was his Fukutaichou. Rukia was part of the Thirteenth Division, and Orihime, Chad, and Uryuu were regular humans with special abilities. Orihime's magical-like hairpins, Chad's arm, and Uryuu is a thing called a Quincy that uses a bow and spirit arrows to attack. The other three guys named Ikkaku, Yumichika and Renji were Shinigami too. Kurosaki was apparently a Shinigami Daiko that helped them a while back. So everyone beside Orihime, Chad and Uryuu were Shinigami.

"See, Azumi-chan? We couldn't blatantly tell you because we'd get in trouble... we're sorry that it had to come to this, would you please forgive us?" Orihime pleaded, a huge frown on her face.

I walked to the door and put on my shoes.

"Where are you going, Azumi-chan?" Rukia asked.

"I gotta think. I'll be back for my stuff later." I said standing up.

"Azumi-chan, you can't go off by yourself! Your reiatsu will attract more Hollows!" Rangiku said as I opened the door.

I shrugged and shut it behind me without a word.

The cold, brisk air brushed my face as I walked off from Orihime's apartment. I heard Orihime shout out the window for me to come back, but I acted like I didn't notice and continued walking. The wind stung my eyes, making me shiver and wish that I'd brought my jacket with me, but was too late to go back. I wanted to go to my usual place at the park, but then I realized that probably wouldn't have been a good idea. I really didn't want a Hollow chasing me at the moment, so, I went back to my house.

It was at least 11 p.m., so my parents were probably already asleep, and wouldn't notice me coming in. I climbed up the wall of flowers that led to my bedroom window and propped it open. The only thing that I needed from my room was a sweater, so after I got one and put it on, I left out my window again. I reached towards the tree branch nearby, and swung myself up. After a slight breather, I climbed the tree up to my rooftop and laid there staring at the incomplete moon with my music player for a while.

The whole thing seemed like a load of lies, but it had to be true. Why wouldn't they tell me the truth now that the situation's gone this far? It just sounded so unbelievable that I didn't want to take it seriously.

I wondered if I'd acted overly-dramatic when I heard Toushirou's explanation. But, wouldn't a normal person do exactly what I did? Who can honestly just sit there and take news like that lightly?

I had a right to get an explanation—it was only natural. Was I too harsh with them? Did I give all of them guilt trips? I mean, even though they deserved it, that doesn't make it right. I've had plenty of guilt trips thrown at me in life—I knew how those felt. Maybe I should apologize; it wasn't their fault that they couldn't tell me—it's not like they had a choice. And they probably took a huge risk even telling me all this—especially Toushirou. Being a Taichou probably meant that he has a lot of responsibilities and probably takes the blame for a lot of things. Although I'm grateful that they told me, I've probably caused a lot of problems to them now.

"G _reat! Now_ I _feel like the bad guy!_ "

An all too familiar song came on my music player, and it kind of seemed like the moment was right for it; I sang the ending quietly to myself.

"So you like to sing,"

I gasped and sat up to see Toushirou sitting next to me.

" _Good God! When'd he get here?"_

I coughed and straightened up, then turned off my music player.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, a small blush rising.

"You heard me." He retorted.

"I don't remember any singing—especially _me_ _singing_ ; you must be hearing things. I think its due time to go get your ears checked, _Toushirou,_ " I said the last part on purpose.

"Yeah right, and from now on that's Hitsugaya-Taichou to you," he replied.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I responded.

He gave up with a sigh. We sat there for a couple minutes without any verbal exchange. I noticed that Toushirou was in his gigai instead of his Shinigami form.

After a while, I finally spoke up.

"So, why're you here?" I focused my vision back up at the crescent moon while awaiting his answer.

"They sent me because they're worried about you; they didn't want anything bad to happen to you." he answered.

"I see," I replied barely above a whisper.

"I don't see why they even bother. I'm just an insignificant little human compared to you guys, after all."

"Even so, they still consider you important and care about you just like they would each other. It doesn't matter what you are—they just want you to come back." Toushirou replied.

"Just them, huh? So obviously you were dragged to come get me against your will, right?"

"Exactly. I don't do this often, so don't get used to it." He replied, followed by silence again.

"I was thinking—I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." I spoke up.

"For what?" Toushirou asked.

I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my head on my knees.

"For everything. I'm happy that I finally have answers to all of the questions that have been driving md insane, but now I realize that you guys telling me the truth means that you're all taking a risk—especially you since you're a Taichou. And then to top that off, I unknowingly threw a guilt trip at you guys when I left. Since you're here first, I'll just tell you sorry before everyone else. So again, I'm sorry."

Toushirou watched me while I explained with those teal eyes of his; quietly listening to me prattle on before focusing his attention at the moon again.

"Forget about it. Like I said earlier, I've given it some thought as well and figured that its better you know. That way you know why Hollows keep attacking you and we don't repeat the same process over again. We'll teach you how to control your reiatsu that way it's not so out of control and calling out to every Hollow in town." He told me.

"Figure that out all on your own didja?" I smirked with a chuckle.

"...Shut up." Toushirou replied impatiently; I laughed.

"By the way; thank you." I said.

"For?"

"For saving me from being a Hollow's dinner—twice. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. I owe you." I told him.

"Don't worry about it; you don't owe me anything." He replied.

"That's bull. I owe you my life if you want to get technical about it. If you ever need something, please let me know."

"Again, you don't—"

"Please," I cut him off.

He sighed in frustration and I shoved him—just slightly—playfully. He just looked at me and cocked an eye.

"Whatever you say," he responded.

"Good! I'm glad you agree!" I grinned triumphantly.

"You ready to go back?" he asked.

I nodded and stood up. I walked toward the tree that I'd previously climbed up to get here, and before I took hold of it, I turned around to look at him with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, one more thing," I started.

"What is it now?" He asked.

"Your lips are really soft…and warm too!" I stuck out my tongue and laughed before taking hold of the tree and jumping down a couple branches.

"Hey—!" Was all I heard as I quickly descended down the tree.

I tried to stifle my laughter, but the thought that he was probably blushing made it extremely hard. I let a short burst of laughter out before finally making it to the ground. Toushirou was already there; which surprised me so much I unintentionally jumped back a few feet. He looked angrily flustered, and I couldn't help but continue the torment.

"Aw, what's the matter Toushirou? Did I steal your first kiss?" I smirked, taunting him in a little kid's voice.

"Baka..." Toushirou muttered with anger apparent in his voice.

Before he could say anything else, I dashed off as fast as I could.

"Oi! Get back here!" He shouted after me.

"You'll have to catch me first! That is, if you're _fast_ _enough_!" I challenged, turning around and sticking out my tongue at him.

His face was absolutely priceless; it was blank and clueless. I snickered and turned forward again and kept running. Then all of a sudden Toushirou appeared in front of me, running—or should I say practically sprinting—backward so he could smirk at me. I forgot that he was a freaking Shinigami.

"What are you talking about? You're the one that's not fast enough," He crossed his arms, smirking in confidence.

"Jerk!" I growled, squinting my eyes at the white-headed cocky jerk.

"Shut up," I said, slowing down to a stop.

"Tired already?"

"Yeah? So? What of it? So I don't feel like trying to beat a Shinigami that can use a technique that I've never heard of." I shot back with a huff.

"As I thought," He smirked.

If I could get a hold of that cocky jerk, I'd smack that smirk right off his face.

"Well, I don't feel like walking, so get over here." He said suddenly.

I took a hesitant step back.

"W-Why?"

"So we can hurry up and get back," he replied.

Then I realized what he was going to do.

"N-No, that's okay, I'll pass. You can go pull your Speedy-Gonzalez-mumbo-jumbo without me. I'll walk," I replied, walking away from him.

There was no way I'd let him carry me! No freaking way!

He sighed. "Well I can't just leave you here, what if a Hollow comes?"

"Then a freaking Hollow comes. Geez Toushirou, I thought you said you were a prodigy," I shot back sarcastically.

He sighed again, and threw his arms behind his head.

"Fine, you go ahead and wait for that to happen then."

"Pssh, fine! I will then! Later!" I said and walked off.

But of course that didn't work—the stubborn jerk.

Toushirou picked me up like nothing in a flash; slinging me onto his back and dashing off using his speed technique.

"H-H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I shrieked.

He didn't say anything; just continued the technique.

"Y-You jerk!" I punched at his shoulder.

It was then I realized how close I was to him. I flushed and looked away.

"F _reaking damn it! Stop betraying me you stupid face! I don't like him like that! Geez!"_ I whimpered in my head.

About four and a half seconds later, we made it to Orihime's apartment; entering through her window that was punched into earlier. Geez, talk about rude. Everyone excluding the sleeping Tatsuki snapped their heads in surprise at our entry.

"Okay, you can put me down now!" I flailed in a sheepish high-pitched voice.

The position we—or, I—was in seemed very awkward. I heard some giggles as Toushirou let me down, and once the giggles died down, the same 'sorry' look that was previously on their faces had returned. I blew at my bangs in a sigh and shook my head.

"Geez, I come back to see sad faces? That's not the reason I let Toushirou drag me back without my own consent!" I crossed my arms in fake anger and smiled.

Their faces brightened as they all rushed toward me—Rangiku and Orihime going in for a hug.

"G-Guys, I mean girls! I'm not used to hugging this much!" I whimpered while trying to slither my way out of their grasp.

I mean, hugs are awesome and all, but I didn't like them this much!

"Good to have you back, Azumi-chan!" Orihime squealed.

I quickly told them exactly what I'd told Toushirou about me being sorry and what not; my whole explanation of it and all. They didn't really think much of it however, they basically just said that I shouldn't be, and stuff like that to try to make me feel better. Although it didn't really work, I pretended that it did. Hey, what are friends for anyway?

The rest of the night was full of talking, goofing around, and kicking back. I had asked more questions about the new chunk of information I had learned, but then when Tatsuki woke up I stopped and acted like nothing.

They had told me that since Tatsuki didn't have as high of a reiatsu, she wasn't a high-risk case like I was. She had a fair amount of it, but not enough to where she would constantly be put in danger like myself. For her, it wasn't worth completely changing her life over it. I halfway agreed—I didn't like the situation because I literally was just in the same one, but knowing everything now, I completely understand the reasoning. So, I just shut my mouth and played along like the rest of the group.

The next day at about 3 p.m., I went back home.

I didn't want to over stay my welcome, and my parents were probably wondering when I'd get back anyway. With much consent from Rangiku—more like a clever blackmail—she sent Toushirou to walk me home so that nothing 'bad' would happen. _I_ thought it was more like a set up, but that's just me.

"I knew you weren't Rangiku's cousin," I said out of nowhere.

Toushirou just looked at me weirdly for a moment before shrugging and continuing his stride.

"Where did that come from?" He asked.

"Just thinking out loud again," I smiled to myself and threw my arms behind my head as I walked.

"You do that often?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Yep." I smiled.

Then after a moment, I came up with another one.

"Hey! Remember when I was yelling at you to 'respect your elders' when we were talking? And you mumbled something to yourself? Does that mean you're older?" I asked.

"Centuries. Shinigami years are different from human years, so that's why I don't look it. It takes longer for us to age than it does for you humans. So I think that _you_ should respect _me_ since I'm the older one here." He concluded.

"Not a chance! I look way older than you anyway! I won't yell at you about it again though," I replied grinning; he sighed.

We walked the rest of the way with me sputtering random nonsense that came to mind, and Toushirou sighing with a 'why me?' expression on his face. Finally we reached my front door after a while of walking, and as Toushirou was about to leave, he gave me the same lecture _again_ to make sure it was thoroughly drilled into my skull.

"You have our numbers; so in case of anything call us." Toushirou said for the thousandth time.

"Aye, aye Captain!" I saluted sarcastically while smirking.

He _so_ wanted to kill me; I laughed.

"Geez, Toushirou! Lighten up why don't you! You're so stiff all the time!" I teased.

"Whatever." He turned around and walked toward the sidewalk.

I stuck out my tongue and pulled down my eyelid at him as he walked, somehow almost falling in the process. He shook his head and sighed.

"And don't do anything stupid; you're above the average baka,"

"Hey! I am not a baka! I'm just careless and clumsy! You got a problem with that?" I flailed.

"That's precisely why I said it." He replied before flash-stepping off.

I shook my head while trying to fish out my house keys from my bag.

"' _That's precisely why I said it,' pssh, the little smart ass! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much! He has no need to worry about me! Wait...he was...worried? About me?"_

I stopped and shook my head for a minute, trying to get rid of the thought while I unlocked the door and went inside.

"Mom, Dad, I'm back!" I shouted, shutting the door behind me.

"Hi, honey! How was your sleepover?" My Mom asked as she came out from the kitchen with a broom.

"Hey Mom; it was...interesting to say the least," I smiled.

_Very,_ very, _interesting._

"Well that's good! I'm glad you had fun!" She smiled and walked up the stairs.

"Those damn possums are back again; just when we thought we got rid of them!" She said with a frustrated huff.

I made my mouth into a straight line and shut my eyes tight in an effort to hold in the laughter that was ready to erupt.

"O _h yeah, possums...of course,"_ I mused.

"What the Hell's with that face?" My Dad asked, coming out of nowhere.

I froze and snapped my head to him to see a confused and somewhat scared face.

"N-Nothing—I just thought of something funny," I replied.

"Hmm, all right then." He said, giving up on the subject as he sat down in his recliner with his newspaper.

"Readin' the good 'ol Sunday paper?" I plopped down next to him on the other couch.

"First of all, today's Saturday. Secondly yes, I am indeed reading the paper," he corrected.

I laughed sheepishly, "...shut up."

"Anyway, you know how I just got finished with that big project at work I told you about?" He asked; I nodded.

"Well, after I get some paperwork about the building finished, me and your Mom are thinking about going on a vacation. We were going to pull you out of school to go with us, but I don't want you missing anything important; will you be okay staying here by yourself?"

" _Mom, Dad, on vacation?"_

"Sure, go ahead. I don't mind," I nodded.

" _It's not like anything bad's gonna happen to me anyway with Shirou-Taichou and everyone else around anyway."_ I yawned and leaned back on the couch.

"Good, and even so, now you have friends to call incase you get into any trouble. No wild parties while we're away, young lady," The middle aged man said playfully.

"Pssh, as if! Since when have _I_ ever thrown any wild parties?"

"Hn, just be careful." My Dad replied, flipping to the next page of the newspaper.

"Of course!" I stuck out my tongue at him.

For some reason, I thought of Toushirou when my Dad made that 'hn' noise. That's not good.

We sat there—well I laid—in silence for a little while; him reading his newspaper, and me staring at the asbestos on the ceiling. I didn't know when exactly, but during one of the times I tried to make out images from the asbestos, I fell asleep.

My dream was more like a memory; taking place back when I was still a little girl living in America before moving here to Japan. Why I'd dreamt about this memory was a mystery, but I still dreamt it.

_I was playing by myself in the backyard; pretending I was a fairy who ruled over the entire backyard. My mother always loved planting, so we had plenty of berry bushes, apricot, apple, and almond trees, and a whole vegetable patch. We even had chickens, a pig, and a dog too. A mini-ranch as we liked to call it._

_My dog Ariel barked next to me as I picked one of the concord grapes and placed it on my tongue before chewing and swallowing it; enjoying the flavor that never seemed to grow old. I smiled and licked my lips of the berry juice before picking another one and repeating the process._

_I sat down and leaned against the tree trunk near the bush, continuing my berry-eating-fest while Ariel sat down next to me. I pet her black coat with my free hand and she nudged her snout against my hand as if asking for me to pet her even more._

_We'd found Ariel a long time ago, when she was almost full grown. She wandered down our street, and when I called to her, she immediately ran to me and licked me. After much pleading and begging, my parents said I could keep this part-wolf dog. Since I was obsessed with_ _**The Little Mermaid** _ _at the time, I named her Ariel._

_All of a sudden, Ariel stopped her nudging and her ears dropped from their usual upright position. She laid down with a small whimper while staring towards the house._

_"Azumi! Get in here right now!"_

_I stopped mid-bite and looked back to my house that was a little ways away. My mother slammed the screen door open and stormed outside._

_"I said get in here right now, Azumi!" She shouted again in a demanding voice; going back inside and slamming the screen door shut._

_Scared, I swallowed the berry in my mouth and ran as fast as my little legs could take me back to the house—Ariel taking the lead ahead of me. As I grew near, angry voices were apparent, and my stomach immediately felt empty from fear. I opened the screen and unknowingly dodged a dull steak knife that had been thrown my way. It hit the wall beside me and fell to the floor with a metallic cling._

_"You almost hit Azumi, you bastard!" My mother yelled in anger as she made her way toward me._

_"Are you okay Azumi?" She asked while crouching down to look me in the eye; I nodded._

_"Don't worry Azumi, we're going away from this ass-hole, don't worry,"_

_"Oh, I'm the ass-hole now? The last time I checked you already filled that position!" My father argued back._

_My mother ignored it, and kept her focus on me._

_"Come on, Azumi, we're going." She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the front door._

_Before I could open my mouth to speak, my Dad intervened._

_"No, you're not taking Azumi_ _**anywhere** _ _, she's staying here with me, and that's final." He bent down and picked me up; an arm behind my neck and the other under my knees—almost as if he was carrying me like a baby._

_He gave me a tight squeeze and started walking towards my room._

_"Don't worry Azumi; everything's going to be okay, baby," he smiled a little, reassuring me with his dark brown eyes._

_"Kenji—!"_

_"Elena!" My Dad cut her off with a stern and icy cold warning tone; turning around to face my mother._

_"You will not bring her into this. Understood?"_

_My mother went quiet and didn't move a muscle._

_I had never heard my father use that type of tone with anyone before. He was always calm and collected—he never lost his cool, he always just stayed silent and only talked when he needed to get something across. But the look in his eyes when he said those words; the sound of his voice—it was something I never wanted to experience again._

_He turned around and started walking toward my room again without a word. I didn't quite know when it happened, but tears were cascading down my cheeks. I sniffled and buried my face in my Dad's chest while grabbing onto his shirt._

_He gave me a light squeeze._

_"It's okay Azumi, don't cry, okay?" he said gently while placing me on my bed._

_I nodded and did my best to hold back my tears, but pathetically failed and choked out a few sobs. He shook his head and gave me a light smile as he wiped away my tears._

_"W-What's going to happen to us?" I asked sniffling._

_He rubbed his thumb across my cheek, getting rid of the last tear._

_"Nothing's going to happen, okay? Everything will be just fine," He planted a kiss on my forehead and left my room without another word._

_I slid down from my bed and ran across my room to my corner. A corner secluded away from the rest of the room that I always found security in somehow, like nothing could touch me when I was there. I crawled underneath my shelf and sat there hugging my knees and burying my face in them._

_The dream fast-forwarded to different scenes; the police showing up, my mom and dad screaming at each other in front of me, me crying and making my silent pledge to never cry again, and finally my mom grabbing my hand and pulling me and our luggage out the door. Never to be seen again by my father for two years._

I was moving. My eyes shot open and I looked around only to hit my head into something warm and soft. I looked up and saw my Dad was carrying me.

"D-Dad?" I called, the words coming out a bit hoarse and sleep-like. I was still breathing a little heavily.

He looked down and smiled. "It's okay Sweetie, I'm just taking you to your room, okay? You were having a nightmare." We finally reached the top steps, and he went to my room down the hallway.

"O-Oh," was all I could manage to let out.

My Dad hadn't carried me in years; the last time he did was probably the day when what happened in my dream took place—when I was six. I snuggled into his chest, missing the feeling of protection that he always gave me when he held me. He set me down on my bed and threw a blanket over me. He kissed my forehead like he did that day, and brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

"Get some sleep, it's late." He said, before making his way to the door.

"D-Dad,"

"Hmm?" He stopped before shutting the door behind him.

"I love you," I said, resting my head against my pillow.

He smiled and looked at me once more before he said, "I love you too, Sweetie," and shut the door gently behind him.

I smiled and turned to lay on my side; curling my legs up and resting a hand under my head. A single rule-breaking tear falling off my cheek and onto my wrist.


	6. Chapter 6

I took a drink from my water bottle as I watched Rangiku scold the bald-headed Shinigami by patting his head. His face was absolutely priceless; I couldn't help but nearly choke on my gulp of water from laughter.

"You got somethin' to say? Ne, Takashita?" Ikkaku shouted at me irritably; I laughed even harder.

"Hmm...nope." I smiled and took a bite of my sandwich.

He just glared at me for a moment before yelling at Rangiku again.

A few months had passed since Rangiku's sleepover.

Nothing really major had happened; sometimes everyone would disappear and I'd hear noises in the distance, but it still seemed like none of this Shinigami and Hollow business was even real. It kind of just seemed like a myth—except that it wasn't.

I had started my reiatsu training around when I found out about everything, and even though I would train to try and control it, I still hadn't quite mastered it yet. I could hide most of it, but not fade it out completely yet. Toushirou said that it was natural for me to take a long time because I'm a human, but even so, I wanted to hurry up and master it already. It was taking up too much time in my opinion.

I'd been training in a man named Urahara Kisuke's basement; it was a large and vast landscape that had plenty of huge boulders and rocks—even a sky. It sounded crazy and hard to believe, but that's what's underneath his shop. My first reaction when seeing it was a literal a jaw drop and muttering profanities in shock. My training varied due to school work—and laziness—but I went at least a few times a week, and almost got the hang of it.

Alongside that, I had actually bonded quite a bit with all my new Shinigami friends. Rangiku and I would hang out here and there when she wasn't busy, and it was always fun bickering with Ikkaku, Kurosaki and Toushirou. Orihime was such a sweetheart that I actually decided to be a pal and try her cooking—it definitely wasn't one of my best decisions. All in all though, I was really happy with how my life was going the last few months; it made each day worth waking up for.

While the others bickered and talked to each other, I looked around and saw Toushirou standing over by his usual rooftop ledge again; secluded from the group. I carefully tore off half of my sandwich, and crept over to him. Before he could turn around and say something, I snuck up from behind and put the torn sandwich in front of his face. He turned around and looked at me with his eyebrows slightly furrowed, a questioning look on his face.

"Here, I tore off half for you," I smiled, taking the sandwich away from his face and towards where his hands were.

"No thanks." He said, turning back toward the ledge again.

I walked over and leaned beside him.

"Are you sure? It's ham and cheese! Although I myself don't really like ham, it was the only sandwich meat in the fridge this morning. So, I kind of don't really want to finish it anyway," I said while looking at the sandwich in my hand.

"No," he repeated nonchalantly.

"So you're going to let it go to waste while there's _starving children_ halfway across the world? Not cool Toushirou, not cool." I shook my head.

"How many times must I say that it's _Hitsugaya-Taichou_ to you? And I'm technically not letting anyone starve; you're the one who made it and don't want to eat it," he turned to me with an accusing look on his face.

"Yeah, well, _technically_ you _are_ starving someone: yourself. I swear Toushirou, if you don't eat something you'll be a dead boy...even more than you already are! I mean seriously! The only thing I've seen you eat is a slice of pizza when I ordered it at Rangiku's sleepover! Come on, don't be shy! It won't bite your head off," I said, waving the sandwich in front of his face again.

"I said I don't want it! And what's with calling me _boy_?" He asked irritably.

"Shush! I won't take no for an answer, Toushirou! And you're lucky I'm not calling you something _else_ that Rangiku told me." I smirked.

He immediately shot a glare at Rangiku.

"And what was that?"

"I'll only tell you if you eat this half a sandwich." I said, crossing my arms and nodding my head in conclusion.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, then grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. I snickered as he ate it; he made a face that clearly stated that he really didn't want to eat it.

"Come on; don't treat it like its freaking poison!" I yelled at him.

He made a low growl of irritation that I couldn't help but laugh at. After a few more bites, he finished.

"There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" I smiled triumphantly and leaned back against the ledge.

"Whatever. Now what did Matsumoto tell you?" He asked, staring at me.

"I didn't shake hands on it; I don't have to tell you anything," I smirked and stuck out my tongue.

"I ate the stupid sandwich, now tell me!" He demanded impatiently.

I laughed and poked his forehead with my index finger. "All right, fine. I'll tell you if you don't hurt Rangiku," I bargained.

"All right, fine. Now what is it?" He asked again, his irritation growing by the second.

"Aw! You look like a little boy when you're mad, _Shirou-chan_!" I smiled while tugging on a lock of his hair.

He narrowed his eyes at the name and smacked my hand away. He glared at me and then shifted it to Rangiku.

"Matsu—!"

**Crash!**

Toushirou stopped midsentence as his phone went off, beeping loudly.

"Hollows." He stated, although it was quite obvious as it was.

He looked to the others and they all nodded, popping Gikon pills in their mouths to separate from their faux bodies and into their Shinigami forms.

"Watch the rest of them." Toushirou ordered his gigai.

"Hai hai!" It replied overly enthusiastically—which was quite scary seeing it come from a Toushirou look-alike; I shivered.

"Toushirou—"

"Stay here, Azumi. We'll be right back." Toushirou said sternly, his Taichou side taking over.

He hopped onto the ledge and was about to take off. I caught hold of his wrist before he did.

"Hey!" I called.

He turned back to look at me.

"Be careful," I looked carefully into his teal eyes.

He nodded, and upon letting go of his wrist, he disappeared from the ledge in an instant.

I took my dwelling hand back, holding it with my other while leaning on the ledge with my elbows. I looked out toward the horizon, catching glimpses of Toushirou and the others flash-stepping to the Hollow.

A strange feeling overcame me suddenly, and I wondered why I was so worried. I knew that they would all be fine, but _they_ weren't what I was worried about. Toushirou flashed in my mind, and I shook my head, letting the bangs covering my forehead to droop down over my eyes.

" _Why am I...so worried about him?"_

-[×]-

"Concentrate, Takashita; you're almost there."

"I _am_ freaking concentrating!" I shot back in aggravation.

I was at Urahara's again, trying to get this reiatsu thing under control. Toushirou's constant command of concentrating was getting really old, really fast—that was for sure.

"Well obviously it's not working since you still haven't masked it completely. Just con—"

"Say _concentrate_ one more time, and I'll _concentrate_ on rearranging your face. We clear?" I growled while glaring at Toushirou with a fake friend smile plastered on my face.

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Just do it already."

"I'm trying!" I flailed, my eyes shut tight and my hands balled into fists.

" _All right, I can do this! Just find your center Azumi—just find it and do it!"_ I commanded myself.

I pumped out another wave of my reiatsu, and a new, different feeling came upon me when I did.

"You got it! You're masking it completely right now! Now just keep at it, and eventually hiding your reiatsu will be so easy that you can do it in your sleep." Toushirou said.

Grinning from ear to ear, I held the feeling for a while. When I finally got used to it, I let it die down again and exhaled a breath of relief ad I sat down in exhaustion. Toushirou walked over to me with his hands in his pockets and looked down at me.

"Now that you know what controlling your reiatsu feels like, you should be able to mask it at any time. So, I want you to mask it one more time, and then I'll let you go for today." Toushirou said, outstretching a hand to help me up.

I took it and he pulled me up, letting go when I was on my feet.

"Okay," I breathed, "here we go."

I focused again, and tried to remember the feeling that I had when my reiatsu was completely masked.

" _Come on, come on!"_

Finally, after a few seconds, the feeling came back, and my reiatsu was hidden. I looked up at him with that huge grin back on my face, and the corner of his mouth turned slightly upward in a smirk-like smile.

"Good job, you did it." He congratulated.

I pumped my fists in the air and jumped up. "Hell freaking yeah! I did it!" I squealed.

Toushirou lightly smiled through my celebratory fist-pumping, and then I calmed down while still hiding my reiatsu. Like he said, it was almost becoming natural now that I was used to it.

"One thing about reiatsu though; it reacts to whatever emotion you're feeling, and depending on what emotion it is—let's say anger for instance—it'll spike up. So remember that you have to be careful with that." He said, putting his hands in his pockets again.

"All right, got it." I smiled, resting my hand on my hip.

"Anyway, it's about time I started heading back home—it feels late," I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone.

"Geez, it's already 8! I gotta go!" I exclaimed, running towards the staircase up to Urahara's shop.

"Maybe the next lesson you can teach me is flash-stepping! That way I won't be late for anything!" I shouted back at Toushirou while I ran.

He didn't say anything; he just shook his head with that smirk of a smile still on his face.

I ran past the crazy man in the green and white bucket hat known as Urahara himself, and shouted: "I did it! I did it!" as I ran by.

He laughed and waved his fan in front of his face like he usually did, and I heard him say "congratulations" as I sped out the front door. I smirked triumphantly and kept running.

-[×]-

I fished out my keys from my back pocket and slid it into the deadbolt; unlocking it and opening the door.

"Mom, Dad, I'm—"

"You _shut_ _up_ Kenji!" My mother shouted from the kitchen.

"Fuck off!" My father shouted back.

"Home..." I finished quietly to myself.

"G _reat, here we go again."_

I shut and locked the door behind me, and immediately started climbing up the stairs to my room. Unfortunately I didn't make it more than five steps.

"Azumi!" My Mom shouted, making her way out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Mom?" I answered.

"Your Dad's at it again Azumi! This time, I'm really getting a divorce! We're going to get out of this Hell hole once and for all!" She said, grabbing my hand from beside the staircase.

My Dad stomped toward us with a furious expression on his face.

"Yeah, I'm tired of dealing with your _shit_ , Elena, and I'm pretty damn sure that Azumi is too! You get the Hell out of here and don't come back to us! You hear me?" He yelled, his face growing red with anger.

" _Us_? There is no ' _us_.' Azumi's coming with _me_ , Kenji, and that's final!" My Mom retorted, her grip on my hand tightening.

"Bull shit, Elena! She's not going anywhere with you _ever_ again! You'll probably bitch at her too like you do to me! I don't know how she survived those years she was with you!"

My Mom's eyes narrowed and she unknowingly dug her nails into my hand.

"Go to your room Azumi, I'll settle this right now. You go pack your bags and we'll be out of here. Sorry this bastard you call your father dragged you into this again."

"Oh _I_ dragged her into this? If I recall, I wasn't the one shouting her name and bringing the whole fight out here in front of her! You do this every time! Come on Azumi, let's get out of here." My father said, opening the front door.

"Oh no you're not! Azumi, you're coming with me. You can get your stuff later, now let's go!" My mother pulled me with her towards the front door.

My Dad caught my other hand, and yanked me back.

"You got it wrong, Elena, it's _you_ who's not taking Azumi!" My father shouted.

"Azumi!" My mother pulled.

"Azumi!" My father yanked back.

I couldn't think.

I couldn't breathe.

My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to shoot out of my chest.

The shouting continued; my Mom on my right side, and my Dad on my left. My head was spinning; my ears were aching from the loudness of the both of them. Finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore; I exploded.

"Shut up!" I shouted, yanking my hands away from their vice-like grips.

They both were stunned into silence, and neither of them dared to move. I backed away from them toward the staircase; anger burning in my eyes and my breathing heavy and unsteadied. My fingernails dug into the palms of my hands.

"Azu—"

"I said _shut up_!" I shouted venomously at my Mom.

She looked down, not saying a word. I focused on masking my reiatsu so the others wouldn't show up.

"You know what? I'm tired of your bullshit! Both of you! I've stayed silent and haven't said jack-shit all these years, and you people just don't seem to get it!" I paused, taking in a huge breath.

"You dragged me into this, now you're fucked. That's right, I said it. You both are _fucked._ There's no getting away from this now. It's what you wanted right? You carried it on just to watch me break, didn't you?" I started laughing like a mad woman.

"All those years of fighting...all those years of trying to be the good one, trying to get me to be on your side, trying to make each other look like the bad one, and guess what? It backfired. I'm my _own_ side. Neither of you will _ever_ have me. Sure, I'll have to stay with one of you for another two years, but guess what? When those two years are over, I'm getting the Hell out of here, and I will never, _ever,_ see your stupid, inconsiderate, lying faces ever again! You hear me?" I shouted.

I gulped, trying to get my stomach to go back to its normal place in the mid-section of my body rather than my throat.

"Azum—"

"You know what? I've figured out what your problem is," I cut off my Dad.

"You guys are blaming all your problems on me. That's exactly what you're doing. Let me tell you something; _I_ am not the problem. _You_ are the problem. You both think you're freaking saints, but guess what? You're not. Dad, you may have been there for me, but I've seen you in action; you're no angel. You're just as bad as she is. Same goes for you Mom." I looked at her.

She had tears streaming down her face. I didn't care; her guilt trip wasn't going to work on me any more.

"You know, I really don't understand why Mom decided to move back here. I knew this was going to happen. Hell, I even _told_ you it would. I'm tired of this—really tired. So I've just got one thing to say to you: either make up for good, or one of you get the fuck out. I'm done."

I glared at the both of them one last time, then turned on my heel and started going up the stairs with heavy feet.

They both started yelling and screaming my name, pissed and sad at the same time, trying to make up more excuses that I wasn't going to listen to. I ignored them and ran into my room and locked the door. I threw my school bag across the room in a fury, and started changing as fast as I could.

"I have the key to your room, Azumi! Don't make me use it!" My Dad threatened.

I ignored him and put on my jacket. I grabbed my music player and cell phone, then opened and bolted out my window. I climbed down as fast as I could, and ran off away from my house—away from their shouting. I turned my music player on and switched to the most hardcore screamo song I had and cranked up the volume to drown out all my surroundings.

I ran to the park and sat underneath the slide, hugging my knees to my chest and burying my face into them. I exhaled deeply not only from the run, but from the anger that burned in my chest looking for an escape.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to beat the Hell out of something. I wanted to scream. But you know what? I was mentally done. I was over being affected by their stupidity. Hell, I even swore I was done with it; swore to never waste my tears over this matter ever again. Even though crying sounded pretty good right then.

My hands were clenched around my arms so tightly that it stopped the circulation in my wrists. I winced and let my arms go—finding half-moon pools of blood on my palms from my nails. I cursed and leaned back, my head hitting the wood holding up the slide above me. The song ended, and my music player shuffled to another song that matched my situation perfectly.

I sat there for a while trying to calm myself down.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but when I looked up to the sky, the moon was at the very top; a few dark, thin clouds caressing it. I reached into my pocket and took out my cell phone.

_**9 MISSED CALLS** _

"I _wonder who called?"_ I asked sarcastically in my mind.

I scrolled down and saw that they were all from my Mom—of course. I hit the exited from the screen, and looked at the time:

12:24 A.M.

I'd probably be killed when I got home, but I didn't care. I said what I've wanted to say for years, and I didn't care what consequences that brought me. I crawled out from underneath the red slide and dusted myself off as I stood up. I took a deep breath, and started making my way back home.

I climbed up the wall of flowers, and crawled in through the already open window to my room. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I stepped inside.

My room was thrashed.

Completely and utterly thrashed.

All my things were thrown and broken on the floor, the comforter on my bed was halfway on the floor, and my door was halfway open.

"Bastards," I muttered, my mouth still agape at the site.

My anger sparked up again.

There was no reason for them to trash my room like this—no reason _at all_. I stepped over all my broken things on the floor and left my room, going down the staircase.

" _Hell will officially be raised for the second time this evening."_ I growled angrily in my head.

I stomped down the staircase and made my way to the living room. I heard a shuffling on the floor, and...

…an unfamiliar voice.

I walked into the kitchen, and was immediately tackled by someone—I tumbled and hit my head hard on the ground.

He put my hands behind my back, and held my neck tightly—rendering me helpless.

"Azumi!" My Mom cried.

I willed the stars clouding my vision to go away, and finally saw something that made my heart stop.

My Mom and Dad were tied up at their hands and feet, and were on their knees next to each other on the floor in the corner of the room by the sliding glass door to the right of them.

"Let her up," A calm, seemingly uninterested voice ordered.

I looked up to see a man standing a few feet away from my parents, and to the left of me by the sliding glass door. His skin looked naturally pale, but with the moonlight lighting the room, it looked even paler. He had medium-short black hair, and vivid emerald eyes that were fierce and emotionless.

He was wearing the white robes the others had on, but he had something weird on his head. It was like a broken helmet or something, and it had a small horn-looking thing on it pointing upward. And the last and most curious thing of all was the hole at the base of his neck. Could he be...?

I was heaved up to my feet all of a sudden, and I looked back to see that the person who tackled me had his face covered with a white mask. Only his eyes were showing, as were the other man's beside my parents. He held my arms behind me in a lock, and pulled upward—it felt like he was almost trying to break my arms off. I turned my head and glared daggers at the man until I heard footsteps coming toward me. I looked back to the black-haired man, his emerald hues locked with mine in a piercing stare.

"You stay the _fuck_ away from—"

"Dad!"

The man previously standing beside my parents took out his sword so fast I could barely see him do it. He held the blade against my Dad's neck before he could finish his sentence.

I started struggling and tried to escape from the man's grasp.

"Don't you touch him!" I screamed venomously, glaring daggers at the man.

"Be silent, child," The emerald-eyed man suddenly said, drawing my attention back to him.

"Come with me, and these humans will be spared." He prompted almost nonchalantly.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He put his hands in his pockets, not taking his eyes off me for a second—not even to blink.

"I am Ulquiorra Schiffer, of Aizen-sama's Espada."

" _E-Espada? Wasn't that one of the Arrancar things Toushirou told me about?"_

"Y-You're working for Aizen?" I asked nervously.

He didn't respond to the question, but began with something else.

"Aizen-sama has been searching for you for a very long time. Recently he was able to track your reiatsu and sent me to retrieve you." He paused briefly before continuing.

"Now come quietly, and we will not kill these humans." he said calmly.

How could he be so calm? So...uncaring?

I clenched my fists tightly, trying to think. I needed a way to stall until someone got here—if they _even_ get here.

"W-What does Aizen want with me?" I gathered the courage to look him straight in the eye.

"You will find out soon enough." He responded.

I glanced at my parents—the man's blade still up against their throats.

' _Aizen is not to be trusted.'_ Toushirou's words rang in my head.

But, if I didn't go with him, my parents would be killed...

"Don't listen to him, Azumi!" My mother all of a sudden said, snapping my attention back to her.

"Don't go with him no matter what! You hear me?" My Mom shouted, tears in her eyes.

The man's blade dug into their throats slightly from her outburst, and a thin, red line of blood trailed down their necks.

"Let them go!" I shouted at him, pleadingly.

"Ulquiorra-Sama, this girl is obviously not going to listen and come quietly,"

The man above my parents reached down and picked my Mom up by her hair with little effort. She cringed in pain, still crying.

"Let's show her just how serious we are,"

The man held up his blade with his other hand, and quickly slid it against my Mom's already slit throat.

"Elena!" My Dad shouted.

"No!" I shouted again, struggling and trying to kick myself out of the man's grasp.

He punched me hard against my temple—blinding my vision for a few seconds.

"You shut up and keep still!" He grabbed me by my hair and kicked the back of my knees so I'd kneel.

The man then held my head up to look at my Mom.

"Ulquiorra-Sama?" The man holding my Mom began.

Ulquiorra didn't switch his gaze; those silent, deadly eyes still staring directly into mine.

"Get rid of the trash,"

"No!" My Dad and I screamed in unison.

The man smirked wickedly, and dragged my Mom over to me. He held her head inches from mine, making her kneel on the ground against her will. My Mom's scared, hazel eyes stared into mine with panic and fear, as the man thrust his sword through her back and stopped before making contact with me.

Her eyes lost almost all sign of life, and she fell to the bloodied tiled floor in front of me.

"Elena!" My Dad screamed.

"Mom!" I screamed, tears spilling from my eyes and onto my Mom's unmoving body on the ground.

I started choking on my sobs.

"You bastard!" My Dad shouted.

My Dad somehow pushed himself up, and tried his best to tackle the man standing before my mother and me with pure fury and hatred. The man easily dodged and chuckled just before he thrust his sword through my Dad and slashed it back out ferociously with ease and pleasure.

"Dad!" I screamed.

He fell to the floor next to my mother; his face landing directly into the pool of my mother's blood. I went completely silent; motionless with my wet eyes shut tightly. Anger boiled inside me like magma.

"Now you have nothing left in this world. Come with us; Aizen-Sama is waiting." Ulquiorra said, still calm and unaffected.

"Y-You..."

My heart was throbbing in my chest; my stomach uneasy with nausea setting in. A fire burned fiercely in my chest—looking for an escape route. My hand suddenly burned intensely, and I felt something surge through me.

My reiatsu suddenly sparked dramatically like a matchstick and gasoline—shattering the glass door and the windows to pieces.

A red aura emitted from me much _like_ that fire.

I felt the man's grip on my wrists loosen just for a moment. I forced my reiatsu into my burning hand, and suddenly, the man screamed and let go in an effort to shield himself. A small, red ball-like energy burned in my hand, and with another pump of my reiatsu I shot the man with it; a fiery explosion immediately blasting him back.

I turned my head to see the man fall backward—a chunk of the left side of his body and face gone and his remaining eye rolled back into his head. I turned to the man in front of me with anger burning fiercely in my eyes, and he lifted up his sword and stared viciously at me.

"You bitch!" He screamed.

Right before he charged at me, I tackled him to the ground.

I didn't know where it came from—or why I did it—but I bit the left side of the man's neck while holding him down on the ground.

He screamed and writhed in pain, and before he could do anything else, I raised my hand and smashed it against his chest with a strength I didn't know I had. I released his neck; licking his metallic tasting blood off my teeth slowly.

I lowered my lips to his ear, and whispered: "You just made the wrong move,"

I summoned my reiatsu to channel in my hand as it did before, and the small, red ball of energy formed again. I rose my hand—smiling sadistically at what I was about to do—and got struck by Ulquiorra before I could make my move.

The reiatsu in my hand shot out upon my collision with the wall, and flew out the window skyward.

With lightening-fast speed, I bounced back and grabbed Ulquiorra by his neck. I looked him straight in his eyes—glaring and borderline growling at him.

"You tell that Aizen-bastard no _fucking_ deal! You got that?" I spat venomously at him.

Ulquiorra said nothing, but his gaze suddenly went elsewhere. I kept my eyes on him, and suddenly he pushed me off effortlessly _with a single finger_ and I flew into the wall across the room again.

"For now I will relay your message to Aizen-Sama, since reinforcements are on their way." He said.

He lifted his hand, and opened up a portal to a different dimension. Quickly, and effortlessly, Ulquiorra shot the two men I'd injured; they disintegrated as he spoke.

"You will come soon, whether you want to or not, child,"

With that, he stepped into the portal, and vanished.

I suddenly started shaking uncontrollably.

Black suddenly started spreading across my right eye like ink in water. My senses heightened suddenly, and all of my surroundings became vividly alive—everything started speeding up.

I coughed blood suddenly, and fiercely grabbed my arms and tried to steady myself. I heard something moving with my acute hearing, and my head shot up at the direction.

My Mom's hand was twitching.

"M-Mom!" I shouted with a hoarse voice.

I immediately crawled over to her as fast as I could—forcing the blackness in my vision to stop spreading; it finally stopped when I reached her. My shaky hands took off the rope tying her hands as best I could, and I lifted her up, flipping her onto her backside and holding her close to me.

I looked in her almost lifeless eyes and wiped some of the smeared blood from her cheek. Her chest was heaving up and down, trying to fill her lungs with life-giving oxygen. I looked at my Dad—his chest wasn't moving up and down. I slammed my fist into the tile and looked back down at my Mom. Her eyes shifted toward me slowly, and she smiled weakly.

"M-Mom," I scooted her closer to me, cradling her up against me.

She slowly and shakily moved her bloodied hand to my face, and lightly graced my cheek.

"I-In my...dresser drawer...is something for y-you...Azumi," she said, her weak smile never leaving her face.

"We're going to the hospital, Mom! Everything's gonna be all right! Y-You'll see!" I cried, shaking.

She closed her eyes and lightly shook her head.

"N-No matter what's h-happened, your father and I...l-love you very much, d-don't...ever f-forget that, Azumi,"

I squeezed her hand tightly and rubbed it against my face.

"I'm so s-sorry Mom, I-I didn't mean what I said earlier, I l-love you so much," I said with a fresh line of tears going down my face and dripping onto her chest.

She smiled again, and shook her head.

"I—"

Suddenly her eyes went blank, and she stopped moving.

Her hand fell limply in mine, and her final breath left her body.

"Takashita!"

Toushirou and the others finally arrived, and stopped dead in their tracks outside my shattered sliding glass door.

I let my Mom's body go gently, and set her next to my Dad's lifeless one. I did my best to flip my dad over, and wipe some of the blood off his face before setting him against my Mom.

I stared at them for a moment, stared at the lifelessness in their opened eyes wordlessly before shutting their eyelids with my fingers.

I looked down at my hands; the blood all over them...

…and I…

I stood up soundlessly, and turned around without making eye contact with any soul in the room.

I walked away—my vision blurred with tears—and walked upstairs. I walked on the broken articles of my things without so much as flinching, and crawled to the center of my floor; sitting down on the hardwood.

I couldn't hold it in anymore at that point.

I screamed.

Screamed at the top of my lungs the word 'No' over and over again, crying and breathing heavily. I slammed my fists against the floor repeatedly; the blood of my parents smearing and splattering everywhere.

It was all my fault.

I never should have stormed off to leave them unprotected.

I should've just went with Ulquiorra so my parents would still be alive.

Amidst my screaming, and squirming in my own skin, my bedroom door slammed opened. Whoever it was assessed the situation, then shut the door; cautiously proceeding over to my hunched, weeping self on the floor. They stood there for a moment, listening to my heavy panting, grunting and sobbing.

Suddenly, my comforter was thrown over me, and the person knelt down next to me.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder as they scooted closer to me.

I didn't care who it was and I didn't even care to look—I turned around and pulled them by their shirt toward me. They pulled me toward them by my waist softly, threw the cover back over us, and let me cling to them for dear life.

After a moment of violently sobbing, I pushed back softly and looked up to see a face I sincerely wasn't expecting.

Teal eyes stared into my brown ones apologetically, and sympathetically.

Without any words being said, I buried my face back into Toushirou's chest, and continued crying.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I'd woken up early again—at day break—my same unwanted and usual routine that developed when I came to the World of the Living. I sighed without opening my eyes and tried lifting myself up. As I tried to get up, I realized that I was clutching onto something. I blinked to focus my vision, and couldn't help but double-take at what I saw.

Takashita was asleep and curled up in my arms.

I blushed and quickly maneuvered myself out of the position. Her brown hair fell over the base of her neck and her bangs—or whatever females call them—were still covering her forehead in that weird diagonal-like cut it always did.

Her small right hand lightly gripped my shirt while her left arm crossed over atop her right. The expression on her face was a pained one; her brows were furrowed together and she sighed in her sleep. Her black eyeliner she usually wore was smeared and smudged from all the crying she did last night, and I could imagine that her eyes would be puffy, stingy and red when she woke up.

I remembered what happened last night—that was for sure. But I didn't quite have the whole story straight. What _exactly_ happened? Where did that powerful reiatsu disappear to all of a sudden? Had they come for Takashita? I had to be patient and wait until she woke up to find out.

I looked down at her again; the same painful expression as before on her face. I gently took her hand gripping my shirt, and placed it next to her on her pillow; she mumbled something incomprehensible and exhaled. I stayed still for a moment, seeing what she'd do and trying not to wake her at the same time. She twitched and moved her arms closer to her body as she curled her legs up more; her breathing starting to go even again. I sighed quietly, and uncovered myself from her grey comforter to get up.

I stretched out as I usually did, trying to crack my back so it wouldn't kill me for the rest of the day. Once I felt the satisfying crack, I relaxed and exhaled. Looking at Takashita for one last time, I quietly stepped over the broken objects littering her floor and went downstairs.

Matsumoto was sprawled across one of the couches—snoring as she always did. I sighed and shook my head, putting my hands in my pockets and walking into the kitchen. The bodies were gone and the floor didn't have any blood or glass on it like it did previously. Finally those lazy morons followed my orders and actually did a thorough job for once.

In search of some green tea, I rummaged through Takashita's already opened cupboards and found it at the very back. Spotting the teakettle on the stove, I picked it up and filled it up with some tap water from the sink, then set it back on the stove after turning it on. I realized I wasn't in my gigai at that moment, and figured that maybe if I flash-stepped I'd be back in time before it boiled.

I flash-stepped back to Inoue's house, and found my gigai sleeping on the floor next to Matsumoto's. I'd assumed Inoue was probably sleeping in her room, so I tried moving around as quietly as I could. I merged back into my gigai, and then woke up Matsumoto's so I could take it with me. I flash-stepped slower than usual—since it was harder in the gigai—with Matsumoto's following close behind. Finally I made it back to Takashita's house and walked in through the opening where the glass door used to be.

"You know, Taichou, leaving the teakettle to boil over and scare me awake wasn't very nice," Matsumoto said when I entered.

She already made the tea for me and pulled out the teabag before giving it to me.

"Thanks," I said, taking a sip.

It was a little bitter since she left the teabag in for too long again, but I was used to it anyway. She merged with her gigai that was standing idly by, and then turned back toward the stove.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to peer around her.

"Getting ready to make breakfast, Taichou," she smiled weakly while bending down to find a pan in the cupboard beside the stove.

I sighed and sat down at the table.

"Matsumoto, I don't think—"

"Mom! Dad!"

Takashita stopped abruptly in the kitchen entryway, a hopeful smile spread across her face as she looked around like an excited puppy.

No one said a thing.

Matsumoto had straightened herself up, not making any eye contact with Takashita. Takashita's fingers curled slightly, making a lose fist as she let go of the wall. Tears started welling up again in her eyes. She stared at the ground where her parents' corpses were previously, not making any sudden movements or showing any emotion.

"Who cleaned this up?" she asked, her brown eyes still glued to the spot.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and grabbed my tea cup again.

"I had some of the others clean everything up," I answered before taking a sip.

I didn't look away from her.

I could just imagine what she would've done if the corpses were still in tact on the floor when she woke up—the thought in itself almost made me shudder.

"I had the others bury your parents in the local cemetery; they're working on getting headstones made for them. Today we'll notify the police and each of their jobs using our memory modifiers to make them think everything is situated and it all happened in the past. Orihime will help with the human legality of the situation, since she already lives on her own. It will take some time, but we'll be able to get the situation settled." I told her.

Her eyes still didn't leave the spot where her parents last were.

"Thank you," she said, managing a small smile.

I managed to get out of her briefly what happened, and then she locked herself in her room and we didn't see her for a whole week.

Occasionally, I'd hear her go into the bathroom, but that was it. The rest of the time she was locked away in her room. She didn't even come downstairs to eat either; Matsumoto would go up to her room three times a day to offer her something to eat and drink—anything to keep her alive. She never responded, but even so Matsumoto would always set it outside her door. She would open the door to get a small portion, and then shut it again for the rest of the time. Matsumoto and I spent each night at her home—for obvious reasons. Takashita couldn't be left alone with what had happened.

After the week had passed, Takashita finally emerged. I woke up at my same early time, and was shocked to see Takashita already up and in the kitchen; sitting at the table with a glass of water. A cold breeze swept through the house, and even though she tried not to, a shiver raked through Takashita's body as it passed.

"You should put a sweater on," I paused, watching her shiver.

I heard Matsumoto stir from the couch, and she walked over to us in the kitchen.

"Matsumoto, go get her a sweater." I ordered.

Matsumoto saw Takashita and turned glum again instantly.

I knew that it pained Matsumoto to see Takashita like this—trying to cover up her pain and behind a blank stare rather than crying. She was probably grateful that I sent her to go find Takashita a sweater.

I made some tea and sat across from Takashita at the kitchen table. Takashita shifted a little, and then took another drink of her water. I was right; her eyes were all puffy and red, even though an entire week had gone by.

"Toushirou," she began—again not using the formality I'd urged her to. I wasn't about to yell at her though, given the circumstances.

"I-I'm sorry...for the other night." She paused.

I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I...normally don't break down like that...it won't happen again. I promise," she breathed.

It sounded like it was hard for her to say—to admit she had broken down, but that wasn't what bothered me. It was the thought that crossed my mind when she said it wouldn't happen again; strangely, I almost didn't mind comforting her. Of course I didn't want to see her in pain like that again—that was for sure. I didn't understand what this feeling was; why did I not mind comforting the annoyingly obnoxious girl? She reminded me of Hinamori slightly; that same comforting feeling I got from her was something that Takashita also gave off—maybe that was why?

"Toushirou," she called, breaking the rant in my head.

"I was wondering...why _did_ you comfort me that night? It's not exactly like you had to—you could've just walked away without saying anything. I was kind of...surprised, to see you actually. I'm not saying I'm not thankful, I was just wondering..." she rambled.

Then I really did wonder. Why _did_ I comfort her that night? Now that I thought about it, it was kind of weird. When Takashita turned and walked away from her parents bodies that night, it was like something hit me. I didn't know what it was, but then at that moment, Matsumoto put a hand on my shoulder.

_"Taichou, you should...comfort her right now. When a girl's grieving, they need someone to help them get through it,"_ she'd said.

I opened my mouth to reject her request, but I didn't. All that came out was a weird slur of the words I've trained myself to automatically say. Something was wrong with me; that was for sure. I didn't quite get what, but it was definitely something about seeing the normally foul-mouthed, tomboy of a female an emotional wreck—it was distressing.

Suddenly we heard Takashita screaming. I immediately thought of the possibility that something was happening again. I told them to clean up the mess, and headed quickly upstairs after her. She was on the floor, slamming her fists against the floor, sobbing loudly and screaming in distress.

A heavy pressure suddenly weighed down on me, and I felt the need to do something. Looking again at the girl that always seemed to bother me and seeing her sad and depressed was something I couldn't bear to witness. I didn't really understand why I did it.

I'd pondered all night about it. Why I suddenly laid next to _her_ in _her_ bed, pulled _her_ close to me, and let _her_ cry and grab onto me. It was like I wasn't thinking; like some weird instinct had taken over that I couldn't suppress. All I knew was that I had to do something.

I didn't even let my best friend _Hinamori_ get that close to me—Hell, I barely even let her touch me. What gave Takashita—a girl I've known for only a few months—that privilege? When Hinamori _grew up_ with me? Comforting aura or not, the touching factor still was unsettling.

"Toushirou?" Takashita interrupted my thoughts again.

Of course she would—she _always_ did interrupt my thoughts. She looked at me expectantly, and I remembered that the very cause of my rambling was the question she'd asked me.

"I may be cold, but I'm not heartless," I closed my eyes in thought again.

Great, where was this coming from now?

"You looked like you needed it, and it didn't help that Matsumoto was practically shoving me towards the staircase." I crossed my arms.

" **That's a lie, Master,"**

Great; now the dragon was in on this too?

" **Your Fukutaichou had nothing to do with your actions. You did that on your own accord."** Hyourinmaru stated bluntly in my head.

" _Keep out of it."_ I growled at the dragon.

I heard him grumble something before he shut up.

I sighed and looked up at Takashita; she didn't say anything. I wondered if I'd hurt her feelings—if I'd said the wrong thing. I couldn't tell—her face was unreadable. All of a sudden, she smiled weakly.

"Well anyway, thank you." She looked up at me.

My eyes eased up a bit from their usual icy demeanor. I heard the dragon try to hide a snicker; stupid Zanpakuto spirit. If I could glare at him somehow, I would.

"Don't mention it." I said seriously.

I really _didn't_ want her to mention that. Who knew what'd become of that?

She laughed one low, single laugh that almost sounded like an exhale, and shook her head. Then I remembered my question: what happened in detail that night? She gave me a brief explanation when I asked her a week ago, but I needed more information.

"Takashita," I began.

She looked at me immediately; her brown eyes unusually piercing for her. I shook it off and continued.

"I know that it may be hard for you right now, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened that night in more detail."

And so she told me.

Told me about the man working for Aizen as one of the Espada; told me that he got mad and killed his own subordinates then disappeared through a portal right before the rest of us had shown up.

My heart skipped a beat when I found out that one of the _Espada_ came for her though. I shrugged it off and listened to the rest of her story. It seemed like something was missing, like she wasn't telling me something.

If it really was the same Ulquiorra we'd encountered before, I couldn't imagine him losing his cool like that because of his subordinate's insubordination. I shoved the thought about Takashita lying to me to the back of my mind. She wouldn't—why would she about something as important as this?

"I see," I said, drifting off on my thoughts again before finishing the rest of my tea.

I heard some shuffling to the side of me, and saw Matsumoto standing there leaning against the countertop.

"W _hen did_ she _get here? I don't remember her walking in."_ I thought.

I looked at Takashita again and noticed that she had a grey sweatshirt on.

" _When'd she put that on?"_

My eyebrows furrowed slightly at my thoughts, but I didn't really let it show too much. It didn't really matter anyway, but it scared me how I failed to notice.

Takashita got up from her seat and wandered over to the cupboards. She took down a box of cereal, and opened the refrigerator to take out the half-full gallon of milk. She got a bowl and poured the oat-looking cereal and milk in. She took out a spoon and put the cereal away, then made her way to the refrigerator to put the milk away.

"You guys can help yourselves to anything; I won't be able to finish all this food by..." she stopped, hand gripping the handle of the refrigerator.

"Myself," she breathed out hesitantly.

She was trying not to cry. No; _forcing_ herself not to cry was the better way to put it.

Takashita sat back in the seat she was previously in, eating her cereal in slow, even bites. She stopped and looked up at Matsumoto who still had that guilty look on her face.

"Cheer up, guys," she suddenly said between a bite; I stared at her.

"Moping about it won't get you anywhere. I'm fine, really," she flashed a quick grin before taking another bite.

" _You're not fine, bakayaro."_ I thought.

At least Matsumoto loosened up a bit from her words; she smiled and bent down to Takashita's eye level.

"Whatever you need, we're here for you, okay?" She told her gently, and then hugged her in a somewhat motherly gesture.

I smiled slightly as she let her go, and smiled at her.

"Well, since going to school today is out of the question, how about we go shopping today? I've got some extra cash, we should go, Azumi-chan!" Matsumoto smiled excitedly.

Takashita's eyes held a relieved and a slightly happy expression. I could tell she didn't want Matsumoto to worry about her; she wanted to do whatever it took to see Matsumoto's happy face again, and to take her own mind off all of this. She nodded in confirmation, and Matsumoto continued rambling on about what they'd do, what they'd see, and so on. But one thing stuck out in my mind: What would Takashita do now that she had no one to watch over her?

"Takashita," I interrupted Matsumoto.

She stopped and looked at me as I continued.

"I think that for now its best that you stay with us at Inoue's house. You can't stay here by yourself anymore." I folded my arms.

"I was actually thinking about that too. If you guys don't mind, I think it's better if we stay here at my house. I'm not saying anything bad about Orihime's place, but this place is more roomier than hers is." She said.

I looked at her for a moment, thinking again. It logically made sense, but could she really handle that?

"Are you sure that you _want_ to stay here? After what happened?" I asked a little bluntly.

I knew that I probably should've been more sensitive on the subject, but we needed to sort this out before anything else.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." She smiled.

I couldn't tell if it was a fake one or not. I stayed silent for a moment, thinking it through until I finally gave in.

"All right, it's settled then. Matsumoto and I will be staying here with you. We'll move all our stuff here, and see what we can do about the missing glass. Hopefully we can get it repaired," I began—mumbling the things we needed to do more to myself than to them.

Takashita just smiled and chuckled lightly at my rambling. Then all of a sudden her mood changed, back to that depressed face from before.

No, not again.

"Takashita," I began; she looked at me.

"You should go get cleaned up...you have eyeliner all over and your hair's a mess." I said.

It was only after I'd said it that I'd regretted it.

I _did not_ mean it to sound like an insult. I mentally slapped myself. Now that I'd said it, it couldn't be taken back no matter how much I wanted it to.

"G _reat. Nice move."_ I sighed mentally.

" **My thoughts exactly."** Hyourinmaru chimed in.

That stupid dragon; he always checks in when I _don't_ want him to.

"Y _ou know, I was being nice before when I said to be quiet. Nice time's over—_ shut up _."_ I thought harshly.

Hyourinmaru started laughing that deep, hoarse laugh of his. Sometimes I really sincerely _wish_ he wasn't stuck in my head. I mentally sighed again.

Takashita got up, a light smile on her face while she looked down at the table.

"Well, at least I can count on you to be as blunt as ever," she laughed to herself.

"All right, I'll go clean myself up then. You guys get all settled in, okay?"

She widened her smile for a split second and then dropped it back to the small one. She walked away and I heard her climb up the stairs.

Matsumoto got up and glared down at me.

"Be nice, Taichou. She doesn't deserve nor does she _need_ to take smart remarks from _you_ right now," she spat, almost venomously.

Well that was a first.

Matsumoto rarely ever dared to show she was angry at me—she was too afraid of the consequences. I guess she really does care about her.

I walked over to the kitchen sink and filled my tea cup with water and set it in the sink.

"The sooner we act like we normally do, the sooner she'll get over it and go back to the way she usually is. I'm not saying not to care about her; I'm saying try to act normally so that she doesn't feel like she's ruining our day." I said simply.

She thought about it for a moment, but then nodded her head in agreement.

"Should we get our stuff over here then?"

"Write her a note, and then we'll go," I said.

She searched for a piece of paper and a pen, and then once she found them and wrote the note, we took off for Inoue's apartment.

For the first trip, we brought the simple stuff—things like clothes and other smaller items that were necessary. It didn't take long actually, but our second trip did. The second trip we brought the emergency communication screen that the Soutaichou had sent to us.

Since the two of us had to carry the room-sized monitor, we earned more than a few stares. It was awkward, but nothing that a little glare from me couldn't solve. We figured it would be better to put it in the garage rather than inside the house.

"What the Hell is _that_?" Takashita asked dumbfounded.

She was wearing some dark blue fitted pants with a black shirt that had designs on it. She also had a towel on her head like Matsumoto did every time she got out of the shower. Her mouth was slightly agape as her brown eyes stared at the giant monitor in curiosity. That had to have been the first time I'd seen _both_ her eyes; her real ones not lined with black or covered by her bangs—just her regular, chocolate-brown eyes.

She caught my gaze and furrowed her eyebrows in a 'what-are-you-looking-at' expression. Then all of a sudden she froze stiff. She lifted up her right hand to her eye and rubbed her index finger against the corner and looked at it.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She shrieked suddenly and ran back through the door leading to the house.

I stared at the door she ran out of—confused.

"What was that about?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Girls never want to be seen without makeup on, Taichou. _Especially_ in front of guys." Matsumoto answered matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes and started hooking up the monitor.

"She looks fine without it; I don't see the big deal," I grumbled and grabbed one of the wires.

"Aw! You're so sweet, Taichou! Azumi-chan's so lucky to have a guy that doesn't care what she really looks like!" All of a sudden she scooped me into one of her hugs from behind.

I growled and practically kicked her off me.

"Shut up, Matsumoto! Just what the Hell were you trying to imply by that anyway?" I asked harshly.

Great; I could feel the migraine coming. She smirked and looked at me with devious eyes; I cringed for a minute.

"Oh, nothing, Taichou." She said, her smirk still tugging on her lips.

"Whatever; I don't care." I sighed and hooked up the cables.

"Really now? I thought you would since you were the one cradling her in your arms the other night,"

Yep, there was the migraine.

"Matsumoto," I growled.

She looked at my face for a moment and then laughed hysterically. It was then I noticed that my face was abnormally hot. Damn it—she was laughing at me. I looked away and raised my reiatsu slightly, trying to cool down my face from the coldness my reiatsu brought. I even heard the ice dragon start chuckling. I growled, and right before I was about to start yelling, Takashita came in again.

"All right, I'm somewhat _safer_ to look at—for now anyway," She smiled and walked over toward us, her black eyeliner on and her hair still put up in a towel.

I quickly controlled the red in my face and made it turn back to normal again—thank God. She looked down at Matsumoto—who was in mid-hysterics—and stared curiously and somewhat frightfully.

"What the hell happened to her?" She asked leaning closer to me, not taking her gaze away from Matsumoto.

I crossed my arms angrily.

"I have no idea." I lied and turned back to the monitor.

I heard the dragon mumble something under his breath, but I intentionally ignored it and finished hooking up the monitor. After a few minutes, the screen came on—displaying the usual static it always did. Matsumoto had finally stopped laughing right when Takashita had gone up stairs to dry her hair off. After a few more minutes, Takashita came back down.

"I see you got the alien-contraption finally up and running, Toushirou!" She patted my back harshly, those bangs of hers covering her left eye again.

" _Hitsugaya-Taichou_ , Takashita, _Taichou_ ," I said for probably the thousandth time.

Why did people always want to call me otherwise?

"No, it's _Toushirou,_ Toushirou." She smiled that odd crooked smile of hers.

I rolled my eyes and decided not to fight another pointless battle. She started laughing and all of a sudden rested her forearm on my shoulder in a lean.

"So is it supposed to be all static-y?" She asked.

I pushed her off me before side-glaring at her for a moment.

"Yes; the picture changes when we have to talk to the Soutaichou, or vice versa." I explained; she nodded.

"I'm going to report to him now; I think both of you should be present. I know that he'll probably want to see you, Takashita."

"Okie doke," Takashita replied.

I looked at Matsumoto who nodded, and then started the transmission.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, Taichou of the Tenth Division," I said to one of the Bureau of Technology workers.

She greeted me and then immediately transferred me to the Soutaichou. The old man came on screen about a few seconds later, his usual cane in front of him like always.

"Tenth Division Taichou," he began in his raspy voice, "what is it that you have to report?"

I introduced Takashita, explained what happened the other night, and what I thought we should do. The Soutaichou said nothing practically the entire time; no questions asked while he listened to my explanation. His beady eyes were set on Takashita for most of the conversation, and she cringed uncomfortably; unconsciously creeping closer to Matsumoto.

"I see," he grumbled.

He switched his gaze from Takashita to me and continued.

"As you have been doing, Taichou; I want you and those stationed with you to watch over Takashita Azumi. We have no idea what Aizen could possibly want with her, so for the time being we must protect her until we do."

"Understood," I replied.

He left and the screen turned to static again. I turned off the monitor, and looked toward Takashita and Matsumoto—who had amazingly stayed quiet the entire time.

Takashita exhaled loudly and shivered.

"It was like he was staring into my _soul_!" she shouted and shook her head a few times.

"I don't like that feeling." She whined.

"Don't worry, Azumi-chan, you'll get used to the Soutaichou!" Matsumoto said, patting her back a few times.

"Yeah, suuure I will," Takashita rolled her eyes sarcastically.

They kept blabbering on about how she'd eventually deal with him when she went to Soul Society if she decided to be a Shinigami and so on; of course annoying me at the same time.

After settling in at Takashita's house, I took patrol duty for the rest of the day while Matsumoto and Takashita did feminine things like shopping and other stuff. Takashita didn't look too happy when Matsumoto dragged her out the front door—the tomboy in her probably didn't like shopping.

There weren't any Hollows, and there was no sign of any Arrancar movement either. I went back to Takashita's at about 10 p.m. She and Matsumoto were watching boring soap operas on the television when I walked in the unlocked front door.

Takashita's eyes brightened when she saw me for some reason, and I gave her a strange look in return. She got up from her spot on the couch and walked over to me, reaching into her pocket as she did.

"Thank _God_ you're here! If I have to watch another soap opera I'll _personally_ gouge my eyes out of their sockets with a freaking _spoon_!" she whispered so Matsumoto wouldn't hear.

"Oh yeah," she took out a key from her pocket.

"Here's your house key. That way you guys can come in and out when you please. Just lock the door behind you, okay?" She grabbed my hand and put the key into it, then walked behind me to lock the door.

She walked past me and up the stairs.

"I made food if you're hungry." She said, stopping at the top.

I heard the creak of her bedroom door when she lightly pushed it closed behind her—it squeaked and opened a crack in protest.

I walked past the living room where Matsumoto was watching television and into the kitchen. The open spot where the glass door used to be was now covered by a large piece of wood, as were the rest of the windows for the time being. Where they got the wood I'll never know, but at least they actually did what I told them to for once.

There was a piece of paper with some scribbling on it taped to the microwave. I walked to it and took the note.

_"To Toushirou,_

_I left your food in the microwave so it wouldn't get cold._

_You better eat it too._

_Don't even think about throwing it out in the trash can...or the garbage disposal...or any other way._

_I_ WILL _find out!_

_Just be a good little boy and eat, okay? :]_

_~Azumi."_

I grimaced at the 'little boy' part and rolled my eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time today. What a stupid girl. I sighed and opened the microwave and saw a bowl of stir-fry wrapped in plastic wrap. I took it out and ate it at the kitchen table. I heard something thud on the roof.

Matsumoto walked in when I was just about finished eating, an unreadable expression on her face.

"She's still hurting you know," she said as she leaned on the entry way to the kitchen.

"No matter what I do, she never seems to cheer up more than just a little. But...she does when she sees you, Taichou," She said, her grayish-blue eyes staring intently at mine.

Her words rang in my head.

When she saw me? Why would she possibly _cheer up_ when she sees me? It made no sense at all. A flash of the other night whizzed through my mind; I shuddered involuntarily.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked in a bored tone.

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Nothing, Taichou—just nothing," she walked away, leaving me to sit there in my confusion.


	8. Chapter 8

**Takashita Azumi**

I sat on my rooftop, clutching my legs and pulling them tightly to myself. I stared up at the white, glistening moon in the dark blue sky above me; my tears the culprits of the glistening and sparkling. Toushirou and Rangiku were downstairs watching TV or something—which was a good thing since they were distracted.

My façade couldn't hold up any longer.

I didn't want _anybody_ seeing this side of me; this cowardly, broken side of myself that I fight so fiercely to hide. Toushirou had seen it the other night which was a mistake. I tried so hard to hold myself back; to not let him or anyone see me in that weak position, but it just spilled out against my will.

In some ways I was glad that Toushirou was there, and in others I wasn't. Toushirou already had a lot to deal with, and he sure as Hell didn't need to deal with me as well. If I only held up my shield for a little longer, he wouldn't have had to care for me.

I am a burden; one that other people shouldn't have had to bear. I had to cope with this pain; just _suck it up_. Just because something bad happened to me, didn't mean that it had to bring down everyone else's happiness with mine.

A new set of waves came from the two tiny seas at the top of my face. I shut my eyes tightly remembering that faithful night again and my first lie to Toushirou and everyone.

How Ulquiorra killed his own henchmen; how _I_ had nothing to do with it. The damaging blows coming from my hand, the sickeningly thirsty bite I took out of one them, the evil and psychotic way I _liked_ what I did, and lastly, the darkness spreading like a mist over my oceanic eyes.

What was all that? I'd wondered about it all week—thought about what came over me that I felt the _need_ to do that. I'd considered my parents as the main thing that provoked me like that, but _biting_ the man? I could've just killed them both with that weird energy thing, but I didn't. I wanted to feel _pleasure_ while killing him—that's what got me the most.

Then there was the other thing that was the main reason for my tears: my parents. I felt _horrible_. All the things I said to them, everything that happened right before they died—I'd said it all out of anger. I did mean some things, but others I did not. And then I didn't even get the chance to...say I was sorry properly.

A choked sob ripped thorough my throat right then. I covered my wet face with my hands, wishing I could just die to make everything better. I would rather have had it been _me,_ not _them_. Ulquiorra and Aizen were after _me_ , they shouldn't have even involved _them_. What did _they_ do to provoke Aizen? What did _I_ do?

" _That Aizen bastard_ will _pay for this, even if I die in the process."_ I swore.

I sniffled and set my head down on my knees again.

"Takashita?"

I gasped and shot up, choking on the mid-sob. Toushirou was at the other side of the roof, staring at me while cautiously taking a few steps toward me.

"O-Oh, Toushirou!" I exclaimed, trying desperately to wipe my tears away.

He'd done enough already. He— _nor I_ —needed him to help me. He sat down beside me, trying not to look at me but failing. I probably looked like crap...again. I turned the other way for a moment, making sure all my tears were gone and I could breathe smoothly again before turning back to face him.

"W-What brings you up here? Where's Rangiku?" I asked smiling...and coughing.

He lifted up one knee and let his arm rest on it.

"Matsumoto's watching her soap operas again, and I came up here to look at the moon." He replied nonchalantly.

"O-Oh, I see,"

" _Why the hell am I stuttering!"_

"Oh, hey! Did you eat the food I left for you in the microwave?" I smiled, blinking harshly again.

Good thing he was looking at the moon rather than me.

"Yes, although I didn't appreciate the ' _little boy'_ reference on the note." He turned to glare at me—I grinned.

"But you _did_ eat it right? Don't want you dying on me more than you already are," I teased while poking his arm.

Before he smacked my hand away, I pulled it back, grinning victoriously.

" _Yes_ I ate it." He stated while making an irritable sigh.

"Good boy!" I said, leaning back on my elbows for support.

It was quiet for a little while, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was just...silence. I shifted uncomfortably since my elbows started hurting from the roof shingles.

"Tell me about your parents," Toushirou said suddenly.

Taken aback by his statement, I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. Although I wasn't waiting for him to continue, he took my silence as such.

"It's easier to get over things if you talk about them—although this will definitely be a bit harder," he added.

I didn't feel like talking to him about my parents, but if what Toushirou said was true, then I was willing to give it a shot. I didn't want to be moping for the rest of my life.

"All right, I'll tell you," I began.

He didn't look at me, but I knew he was paying attention.

"First off, my Mom's name was Elena, and my Dad's was Kenji. My Mom was Hispanic while my Dad was Asian—obviously because of the names," I smiled, reminiscing.

"As you can imagine, my Mom was raised differently than what we're used to, and she lived in America rather than here in Japan like my Dad did. My Mom learned how to speak Japanese, and was taking a vacation over here when she unintentionally met my Dad. You can probably guess what happened after that; they dated, married, blah, blah, blah," I took in a breath for a moment, then continued.

"My Dad was a construction worker that worked in various places while my Mom was in the trucking industry. In case you're wondering, she was in charge of the trucks that ship food and other things to grocery stores and stuff. So anyway, one day my Dad got called in to go work over in America for this new deal thing that his company made with the Americans over there. About a week before he left though, him and my Mom were walking to a restaurant and stopped when they heard something crying from a nearby alley. They cautiously proceeded, and once they walked a little ways in, they saw a baby wrapped in a blanket on the ground. With no one else around, my Mom picked her up, refusing to let go of her until she found the baby's mother." I paused.

"Unfortunately, after going to the police and trying to search for the mother, the mother never showed. So, refusing to give the baby to the orphanage, my Mom and Dad kept her and called her Azumi." I smiled.

Toushirou's gaze all of a sudden turned to me; surprised and also a little shocked.

"Takashita...you were adopted?" He asked the most obvious question.

I nodded.

"Yep," I smiled again.

The expression on his face changed to an unreadable one; I didn't ask him—I just continued.

"Yeah...going on," I looked up to the snow white moon.

"So, since my Mom was going with my Dad to America for the job, they took me along with them. For the first eight years of my life we lived there. As you could probably imagine, I was raised differently; Hispanic culture and traditions mixed with Japanese ones on top of American culture and all that junk." I laughed for a second; Toushirou looked at me confused.

"I may not look like it, but I'm trilingual," I smirked.

Surprised again, Toushirou stared at me. "Really?"

"Yep. I can speak Japanese, English, and Spanish." I smiled smugly. "Beat that!" I challenged.

"Beat what? Like I care about some other useless languages that I'll probably never need in my life,"

"Whatever, _idioto,_ " I smirked—there was no way that he'd know I just called him a idiot.

"What'd you call me?" Toushirou glared.

I laughed for a good five seconds. "Nothing, never mind," I stifled a cough.

I could _totally_ get used to that.

"Anyway, where'd I leave off?" I asked rhetorically, thinking for a moment.

My expression turned upon remembering.

"Well, when I was 6, my parents had a lot of problems, and they separated. My Mom and I lived near her relatives for about two years. Then for reasons beyond my knowing, they got back to together. Since my Dad's job was just about done, we moved back here, to this house. There's not really much left to it...they continued what they were doing, and that was that. And then...well, you know." I said barely above a whisper.

Great, my emotions were taking over again. I made sure Toushirou wasn't looking at me, and then I punched my right side hard. He looked when he heard the impact, but I just coughed to cover it up.

"You said they 'continued doing what they were doing,' what do you mean by that?" Toushirou asked.

"Fighting," I replied nonchalantly.

"Oh,"

I shrugged. "You get used to it after a while," the other night's final argument flashed in my head.

"Its funny; only when something dire happens does one realize that almost all arguments are pointless. If only I would've..." I trailed off to myself.

I'd wished so much that I could've ended things with them on a good note at the very least. If only my parents and I had made up before everything that happened.

"S-So Toushirou, how were—or, are—your parents?" I asked quickly, not wanting to relay the information about the argument.

Toushirou was on to me, but answered my question to move along in the conversation.

"I don't know; I don't remember them." he replied.

"Oh, I see. Were you adopted too?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"I guess you could call it that. All I remember was being alone, and then Hinamori found me and the old woman she was staying with took me in. She was like a grandmother to me while Hinamori was like my sister." Toushirou lightly smiled; most likely reminiscing like I was earlier.

I smiled. "Aw, well that's nice! I've never had a grandma, so it must be pretty nice. Do you visit her often?" I asked.

"Not as much as I want to. Work doesn't allow too much free time—especially when you're a Taichou," he said grudgingly.

"Well, maybe one day you can take me to see her! I want to meet the person that somewhat raised little Toushirou," I said, giggling.

"What do you mean _little_?" he growled.

I laughed and gave him a hard smack on the back.

"Geez, calm down! I meant when you were small—or, small- _er_." I started laughing again; Toushirou looked like he was going to blow a gasket.

"All right, calm down! You know I'm just playing with you," I smiled.

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Anyway, this Hinamori girl, you see her often?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, I suppose. She's the Fukutaichou of the Fifth Squad—her former Taichou was Aizen. She comes to bug me every once in a while. But, not so much lately..." He sort of trailed off at the last sentence; his mood changing into a sort of brooding mood.

"I won't ask why, but I hope that whatever it is, she comes to visit you soon." I said, trying not to bring his mood down.

"Hopefully," he said.

This Hinamori girl made me think. Toushirou had said that she was like his sister, but I just got this strange feeling when he said it. Like there's probably more in their relationship than he's letting on—not that it was my business or anything. That was Toushirou's life, not mine. I would probably not have a part in it anyway. But, something still bothered me, although I wasn't sure what—I let it die.

"Well," I began as I got up, "we should probably go back inside and figure out how everyone's sleeping before anything else," I bent down and tousled Toushirou's hair.

"Do you honestly _have to_ touch me?" He grunted at me. "It's annoying!"

I laughed and started climbing down the tree. "That's the point!" I stuck out my tongue.

"Now hurry up so that you can help me with the couches!" I commanded.

He muttered something to himself and followed—or should I say passed—me into my room.

First thing I heard when I climbed through my window: Matsumoto snoring…in _my_ bed. She was sprawled out across my bed, half covered by my comforter and with her left arm dangling off the side. I sighed and then laughed quietly.

"Mat—"

I clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shush! Don't wake her up! Just leave her; its okay." I whispered.

He grabbed my hand and took it off his mouth with 'umph' in irritation.

"You should sleep in your own bed, you shouldn't let her—"

I shook my head.

"It's fine; now come on!" I whispered as I waved him toward me out my bedroom.

Reluctantly, he followed while I closed the door behind us.

"The way I see it, you guys probably didn't get to sleep in beds while you were staying at Orihime's, so, she probably deserves one," I explained.

Toushirou sighed. "Whatever."

I walked over to the closet next to the bathroom, and got down two pillows and two winter blankets from the top shelf. I had to jump ridiculously to get them, but I got them.

"Here," I tossed him the blankets.

"You carry those and put them on the smaller couch." I said, walking down the stairs with Toushirou behind me.

We threw the pillows and blankets on the smaller couch, and then I got behind it and started pulling it toward the kitchen. I stopped, leaving enough room to walk to the kitchen and still get around.

"All right, here's where you can help me, Toushirou,"

"What do you want me to do?" He asked with a seemingly bored tone.

I walked to the other couch, and threw off the two cushions that covered the bed underneath it.

"I want you to help me pull the bed up; I always have trouble with it because its spring thingy's broken. My...Dad...always had to help me pull it up," I stammered.

My Dad's face flashed in my mind; I shook my head violently to get rid of the thought.

"All right," was all he said, as he grabbed the handle on the left side of the bed; I grabbed the right.

"All right, pull!"

We pulled, and although I heaved, Toushirou acted like the bed was as light as a picking up a teddy-bear. ...Stupid Shinigami.

We walked back as the queen-sized bed unfolded and made a thump on the ground—well, at least my side did. Since the bed practically touched the wall we were against, I hoped on the bed and rolled until I reached the little couch on the side closest to Toushirou, giggling a little as I did. He just looked at me like I was a crazy person while I grabbed the pillows and threw them on the bed.

"I'm going to go get ready for bed, I'll be right back." I said, making my way towards the stairs.

"You can use the hall bathroom, I'll use the one in my..." I paused and grabbed onto the stair rail.

"Yeah, you get the point." I finished before walking up the stairs.

I made a quick stop in my room to get some PJ's, then grabbed my stuff from the hall bathroom and went into my parent's bathroom. I shut my eyes tight when I walked into the room; I refused to look at any of the things that reminded me of them. After I changed and did everything else that didn't involve taking off my makeup—I couldn't let Toushirou see me without makeup, it was too horrible!—I dropped off my clothes in my room, and went downstairs.

Toushirou was already done, and sitting on the bed texting again. I snatched my blanket and sat on the other side of the bed closest to the TV while looking at his phone.

"Can I help you?"

"Who're you always texting on your phone?" I leaned toward it.

He snapped it shut before I could get any closer.

"First of all, I wasn't texting—whatever that is—and secondly, this is a special phone that tracks Hollows. I was checking if there were any in the area." He explained.

"Oooh," I said overly exaggerated.

I left my blanket on the bed and walked over to the kitchen to turn off the big lights and turn on the small nightlight in the corner of the room. I grabbed the remote and tossed it to Toushirou—who of course caught it—and jumped onto my side of the bed.

"You can watch TV if you want, I don't care." I said, unfolding the dark blue blanket and snuggling in it as I laid down.

"You're sleeping with that stuff all over your face?" He asked, completely catching me off guard.

I literally stalled from how much the question caught me off guard. I rolled over to face him although his back was to me.

"You mean my makeup? ...Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Just wondering." He responded.

"Well ya can't just bring it up and then pass it off like it was something entirely irrelevant," I responded back.

Toushirou borderline huffed before responding.

"Matsumoto always takes her makeup off before she sleeps—unless she's drunk. She says it promotes baggy eyes when left on overnight. I figured all girls thought the same way, evidently I am incorrect." he ranted.

"Sounds about right; females are complicated creatures for sure. You're going to be incorrect about 90% of the time with any regular female. In this instance however, you're right; it does promote all those things. However, I am _not_ about to let you see me without it." I responded.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I said so!" I answered before rolling back over.

The makeup question certainly threw me for a loop, and made me almost blush, but I couldn't let him know that. A few seconds passed, and then he spoke up.

"You're sleeping here?" He asked.

"No, I'm sleeping outside in the freaking tree. Of course I'm sleeping here!" I answered sarcastically.

"Why are you so concerned?" I continued.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at me.

"Are you scared?" I asked with a smirk.

"No, I just think that—never mind." He sighed and covered himself with the dark green blanket I gave him and laid down.

I sat up.

"Honestly Toushirou, I don't have cooties! What do think I'll do? Take advantage of you in your sleep or something? Oh come on," I said sarcastically while trying to hold in a laugh.

"Sleeping next to a girl doesn't mean you're gonna to die—you're already dead anyway!" I couldn't hold it in anymore, I started laughing.

Toushirou sprang up, his face flushed.

"That's not what I meant, bakayaro! I only said it because I didn't want Matsumoto to think something was going on between us! Of course I'm not afraid to sleep next to a girl! If you even call yourself one," He added smugly at the end.

"Why yes—yes I do. And _so what_ if I'm tomboyish. It's better than being all girly-girl like everyone else! If I wasn't so tired, I'd say some stuff that'd make you wanna _crawl_ straight back to your grand-mama, but I'm not. So consider yourself lucky for this evening," I replied yawning as I threw myself back down on my pillow, facing the opposite direction.

"Yeah, _sure_ you could," He retorted back sarcastically while lying down.

"Don't push me, _little boy_ ," I said, a threat lingering in the last two words.

"Hn, like there's anything _you_ could do. I'm a Shinigami remember? You wouldn't stand a chance even if you tried,"

"All right, that is it!"

In one swift motion, I grabbed my pillow and whacked Toushirou in the face with it—hard. His face was shocked and angry at the same time when I took it away. I started laughing hysterically again and fell back down on the mattress.

"Teme!" Toushirou shouted, grabbing his pillow and smacking me with it.

It was on.

The war raged for about a few minutes—complete with barrel-rolls and me falling off the bed—until I'd been beaten enough and raised up my little white flag in surrender.

"I _told you_." Toushirou said smugly.

I faked a sigh.

"Yep, you're just much too strong for me, _almighty_ _Hitsugaya-Taichpu-Sama_ ," I said in fake defeat.

He bought it.

A smug smirk spread across his lips. While he was distracted, I smacked him one last time with my pillow.

"I had my fingers crossed!" I grinned.

Right when he was about to hit me back for ruining his moment, I stopped him.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Stop! I'm done okay? I'm tired!" I whined.

"Fine," he huffed in a irritation; fixing his pillow and laying down away from me.

" _At least I got the last shot in."_ I mused internally at my victory.

I laid down as well, facing away from him.

"Nighty night, Toushirou," I said before yawning and closing my eyes.

"Yeah, night." He said a little coldly, shifting.

He positioned himself next to me—making sure that our bodies didn't touch at all. I smiled and yawned quietly again before slowly drifting off into sleep-mode. My parents' faces were my last thought before I fell into subconscious; a few tears wetting my pillow when their faces slowly faded to black.

-[×]-

I had a dream—that was for sure.

I couldn't remember exactly what happened though; there were some parts that I remembered involving moving blurs, but it all hazy nevertheless. I woke up; a cold breeze whistling by my face and making me shiver. I opened my eyes and furrowed my brows.

A brick wall?

I realized I was leaning against one as well. Where the Hell was I? I got up—stiffer than stiff itself—and looked around.

I was in an alley.

"What...the Hell?" I looked around more, trying to figure out where I was.

I took a step, my bare feet touching the cold pavement. I looked down, and realized that my pajamas had been ripped to shreds.

On my right leg, the bottom part of my pant leg was dropped around my ankle while the upper part of the same pant leg was shredded to the very top part of my thigh all the way around. On my left leg, there was no pant leg at all; it was just as badly shredded as the other one. My black tank top was ripped in different places; my whole stomach was showing except for a long shred that dangled down to my waist. My left strap was mostly gone—a little remnant dangling down from the front. My other strap was shredded, but still holding up by a few threads. Thank God that the remnant of my pajamas still covered the only parts that needed covering.

"What the Hell?" I shouted again, furious this time.

If this was some sick kind of joke, I wasn't laughing! Whoever did this is in for it, that was for sure. The scariest part about it was that I couldn't remember a thing.

I walked to the edge of the alley—looking around for people and trying to gather in my surroundings of where the Hell I was. I saw the coffee shop I always went to, and knew exactly where I was. I looked around—making sure the coast was clear—and made a mad dash out the alleyway toward my house. Of course people had to be waiting around the corner. I ignored them and tried pretending that _they_ were just as bad as I was as I ran fiercely.

I ran toward the park—hiding behind the trees when I saw people—and continued maneuvering my way home. Good thing everyone was at school today instead of at the playground; I shivered at the thought of people at school seeing me like this. I wouldn't hear the freaking end of it! Not only would they point and laugh at me behind my back like normal, they'd come up and _taunt_ me now. Whoever did this sick, twisted joke was a horrible person!

Of course, people just had to ditch school today because it was a Friday.

A group of guys with a few popular blonde girls from Karakura high were walking my way. They spotted me before I could duck for cover of course. I wanted to cry—this was _so_ embarrassing.

"Hey, isn't that the loner girl at our school?" One boy pointed.

"Yeah, it's that Azumi-girl! The weird one that always sits by herself in a tree!"

"What is she _wearing_?" One of the blonde girls said, looking at me up and down before laughing.

"What a _freak_!" The other blonde said, cackling like a witch.

My face was surely cherry red by now. I wanted to just crawl in a hole and die—that would suffice _way_ better than this. I shut my eyes tight and swallowed hard. Then—while they were laughing like freaking hyenas—I sprinted past them as fast as I could, leaving their cackling behind me.

I made it to my house finally, after all the laughter and embarrassment I had to endure for the past six blocks. The front door was closed, but not locked. I twisted the knob and threw the door open, and then slammed it shut behind me.

"Takashita!" Toushirou yelled from the kitchen.

He and Matsumoto ran from the kitchen, stopping to take in my appearance.

"W-What—"

"I don't know what happened; I woke up in a freaking alley with my clothes ripped off!" I cut in, a furious tone trickling out with my words.

He and Matsumoto stood absolutely still.

"I am so embarrassed right now; was this some kind of joke?" I asked, looking directly at Toushirou.

Toushirou's expression changed.

"What do you mean?"

I said nothing, I just looked at him. Even if I wasn't blaming him or not, I was still way too pissed and embarrassed to control myself.

"You think _I_ did this to you? Why the Hell would I do that?" He shot back.

"Who _freaking_ knows!" I started stomping up the stairs to change.

"We've been looking for you all morning, Takashita! Do you honestly think I would do this to you?" He chased after me.

"Do _you_ honestly think _I_ would just waltz right out of here, rip off my clothes like a goddamn werewolf and go sleep in a freaking alley? You were sleeping right next to me; if someone broke in to kidnap me, we both would've heard don't you think?" I slammed and locked the door behind me.

"Takashita," Toushirou began, trying to keep his cool while turning the knob.

"Open the door." He ordered.

I ignored him. I took off my shredded pajamas and threw them across the room in a fury. I opened up my drawer to find a new pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

"Takashita," Toushirou called again, getting impatient.

" _I'm changing,_ " I snarled through clenched teeth. "You can go away now."

"Fine, sit there and pout!"

"Fine, I will!" I yelled back.

I heard him storming down the stairs—like I freaking cared. I put on my pants and my shirt, and sat on my bed, still infuriated.

" _After everything; after trying to_ comfort _me and all that—was it all just a cruel joke?"_ I thought.

" _Who else could have honestly done this? It's only the three of us here! How would someone be able to break in without us noticing? Getting me to talk about my parents...my parents..."_

Flashes of my Dad and Mom's face came into my mind again. But then—as my Mom's face lingered in my mind—I realized something extremely important I'd forgotten.

Her dresser drawer.

I practically stopped breathing.

How could I have been so stupid?

I burst out my bedroom door and into my parent's room. Immediately I slammed the door shut and flew to my Mom's side of the bed—to her dresser. I opened the drawer delicately, treating it as if it was fragile and old. I looked through my mother's artifacts, in search of what she said belonged to me.

I suddenly came upon a picture; it was of my parents and I back when we lived in America in our farm-like house. My six year old self stood in between my parents—my Mom on the left side and my Dad on the right—each holding one of my hands. Ariel sat next to me with her black furred ears as perky as ever; her tongue hanging out of her mouth as it always did before she passed on. I smiled and laughed lightly at the picture; our happiness was still there. I set the picture on the bed, saving it to take with me later and continued my search for the thing my mother spoke of.

I shuffled through some papers and items in the drawer, and then at the very bottom beneath everything, was an envelope with my name on it.

I picked it up carefully, and studied my name scribbled on the front. The writing wasn't familiar; it didn't belong to either of my parents. I turned it over and saw that the envelope was still sealed. I looked down and saw words written on the bottom.

_"To Azumi, in time."_

I sat up on the bed, and stared curiously at it for a moment, before delicately opening the seal with my finger.

Inside was a neatly folded piece of paper sealed with a clear piece of tape. I slid my finger underneath the tape and eased it off, then opened the paper.

_"Dear Azumi,_

_My name is Souma Yoshino, I am your mother._

_I've written you this letter to tell you the truth about who you are, and why I abandoned you. I know that you're most likely startled or angry right now, and for that I am truly and deeply sorry. But, you must know the truth before all else whether you want to or not. I just wish that I could've told you this in person rather than in a letter, but it seems as though I'll never have the chance._

_To begin, you must know a little bit about me before you can know about yourself. I am a Bounto, a creature that has lived for many generations, and a rare breed of human._

_A man named Sousuke Aizen kidnapped me over a few years ago, when he found out my power. I am a rare Bounto; I have the power to reproduce while no other Bounto can. This was what Aizen was after, and this is why he took me._

_There is a special breed of Hollow called Arrancar, and among them are a special group called the Espada. Aizen has a plan that would change everything; a plan that would no doubt include the destruction of The Soul Society and the World of the Living. He wants to make a new breed; a breed of Arrancar and Bounto. He wants to create an army of this new breed to reinforce his current plans to destroy the Soul Society—I was a key part of this plan._

_He used me to cultivate this new spawn with an Espada-level Arrancar, and as you may have already guessed,_ _you are it_ _. I know that this is probably hard for you to take in, but you must know what you are. You need an explanation—it's only right._

_After you were born, Aizen wanted to begin conducting experiments on you to see if he could create more of you—create his Bounto-Arrancar army. I could not let him do that to you. I escaped out of my cell, found my Doll, and took you away from Las Noches. I made it to the World of the Living, and kept running with you sleeping in my arms._

_I could not keep you._

_I'm truly and deeply sorry that I could not. It was for your safety that I had to do this. If they ever find me, they would find you, and that would be the beginning of the end. I took precautions and sealed away your reiatsu that's already powerful as is. Hopefully it'll stay on for a few years until you read this, and escape before Aizen finds you._

_I hope that you've found a mother and a father that could raise you properly, and love you just as much as I do. I hope that we can meet one day; become friends and start over the right way. But I know that this is next to impossible to become. I do not know if I will be around that long to see the day when I can see you again; see how much you've grown, see the woman you have become. It's just a silly dream, but I wish from the very bottom of my heart that it will come true._

_I've heard rumors of an understanding Shinigami named Urahara Kisuke. He will explain everything to you from Bounto to Arrancar; he will be able to help you._

_I must end this letter now, and deposit you to hopefully good couple. I wish the best for you, and I am sorry that it had to be this way._

_I love you very much Azumi,_

_Please...live._

_Your mother, Souma Yoshino."_

I dropped the letter, staring with blank eyes at the wall as I slunk to the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

"Azumi-chan? Are you in here?" Matsumoto called.

I quickly stopped my shivering and tried my best _not_ to look suspicious.

" _Who the Hell am I kidding? I'm a freaking Arrancar_ and _a Bounto! Whatever the Hell that is!_ "

"Y-Yeah, I'm in here!" I stuttered.

I gulped and stood up on my wobbly legs, grabbing the letter and the picture and hiding them behind my back. Matsumoto walked in and looked at me before shutting the door behind her.

"Look, Azumi-chan," she began gently.

"I don't know how you got where you were this morning, but Taichou didn't do it. He would never _ever_ do that to anyone. It's not his style to get back at people—well, aside from me anyway. Even so, he would never take it that far. I just know that he woke me up at the break of dawn this morning shouting that you were gone. He was worried sick, Azumi-chan! He called everyone and made a search party so we could find you! Then when I told him to calm down—that maybe you would just come back home—we came back here to wait for you. Then you showed up."

By this time she was lightly grabbing me by my shoulders.

"Truth be told, Azumi-chan, I have never _ever_ seen the Taichou as worried as he was this morning. I don't know if anything happened between you and him, but the Taichou didn't do that to you. We're trying to figure out who did, so you have to be patient with us, okay?" Her grayish-blue eyes looked into my dull brown ones.

I thought about her words for a moment.

 _Would_ he do that? From what she said, he was really worried about me—if that's the case then he didn't do it. But then, who _did_ do that to me? I doubt that I'd just walk right out of the house and do that to myself. I know Rangiku wouldn't do this either.

I shouldn't have lashed out at Toushirou like that...it wasn't his fault. He even made a freaking _search party_ for me? What the Hell was my problem? Judging Toushirou like that...

"I'm sorry, Rangiku. I...overreacted; I shouldn't have lashed out at Toushirou—he doesn't deserve it," I admitted sheepishly.

" _Well, now I successfully feel like shit five times_ more _than I did two minutes ago."_

"Its okay, Azumi-chan," she nodded before looking around.

"What were you doing in here anyway?"

My grip on the letter behind my back tightened. I could _not_ at all costs tell Rangiku and Toushirou what I am.

Never.

That would make me Public Enemy Number 2 next to Aizen. The only person that can know about this is Urahara...my real Mom said he could help me. Hopefully she wasn't lying about this; at least now I knew why Aizen wanted me.

"I-I was just—umm, remembering things about my parents," I looked down to the floor to avoid her gaze.

It was partially true, I'll give myself that.

"Anyway, I'm going to go get cleaned up okay? I feel like I've been in an alley all night," I said sarcastically while passing Rangiku to go into my room.

"Okay Azumi-chan," Rangiku trailed off.

I hid the letter and picture in my underwear drawer for the time being, and then picked out some clothes for the day and got in the shower. Once I was out and ready for the day, I tried to think of how I could get out of here without raising suspicion. Toushirou and Matsumoto could not know where I was going.

"I got it!" I whispered to myself.

I left the bathroom and grabbed the letter and the other things I needed, and shoved them into my jacket pocket. I walked out to the staircase and peeked over it before I ascended. Matsumoto was taking a nap on the couch, and I couldn't see Toushirou—he was probably in the kitchen.

I walked down the stairs quietly—although Matsumoto's snoring covered the sound of my steps—and walked toward the kitchen. I stopped at the entryway, and like I did before, peeked a little to see if he was in there. He was sitting at the table with his phone out again.

"I know you're right there, Takashita," he said, not taking his eyes off the phone.

I stopped completely for a second, and then showed myself, standing in the entryway.

"Look, Toushirou, I—"

"It's in the past; don't worry about it." He cut me off, snapping his phone shut.

"Well I _do_ worry about it whether it's in the past or not. I was just...angry. I was pointed and laughed at my whole way back—by people from school too. Now instead of everyone avoiding me and talking about me behind my back, rumors are going spread and they'll make an effort to talk about me _in front of me_. Not that I care what anyone thinks, but it's just...I don't know—never mind. Rangiku told me everything, I realized that you would never do something like that. So, in conclusion to my long explanation, I'm sorry." I didn't dare meet his gaze.

"You don't have to forgive me; I shouldn't have yelled at you and—"

"Didn't I say it's in the past?" He cut me off again.

"If I don't care about it, than neither should you. The only thing that _does_ matter right now is how it happened. Do you remember anything?"

I shook my head.

"Only waking up to a brick wall this morning," I looked up at him.

"I see," was all he said.

He looked like he was thinking; maybe this would be my chance to leave.

"Well, besides all that, I have a few errands I gotta go run,"

He looked up at me.

"Errands?"

"Yeah, errands; I have to buy groceries and stuff. So, I'll be back later okay?" I turned on my heel to go to the front door.

"Wait a minute."

" _Damn it."_

I turned back around, innocently.

"Yes?"

"One of us should go with you. We're supposed to be watching you, and after last night's charade we need to watch you even closer now," he said with authority in his eyes.

"Oh come on, Toushirou. It's not like I'm going to die at a grocery store in broad daylight. If it was at night then yes, I'd have one you guys come with me, but it's in the middle of the day on a Friday, everyone's at work or at school, I'll be fine." I tried to reassure.

"Hollows come when they please no matter what time of day, Takashita."

And right as he said that, his phone started beeping.

"Speak of the devil!" I said relieved.

Here was my chance to leave.

"There's three of them," Toushirou said more to himself than me.

"Well there ya go! You can't babysit me even if you wanted to! Look, I'll make you a deal. If I'm in trouble, I'll raise my reiatsu so you can come save me, all right?" I smiled.

He stared a bit harshly at me for a moment—trying to weigh out the risks I assumed. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"No. Wait here and we'll go together when I get back. Matsumoto!" He called.

"I'm ready Taichou," Rangiku came in the room, already in shinigami form.

Toushirou took out a Gikon pill and swallowed it, separating from his gigai into his Shinigami form.

"We'll be back soon, Takashita." His teal orbs staring at mine.

"I got it, I got it. You guys be careful! I'll see you later," I said waving.

In a flash, the front door opened and slammed shut; the two Shinigami gone. I immediately left as well, sprinting my way to Urahara's shop.

I knew that Toushirou told me not to, but I had to go figure things out before anything bad happened.

-[×]-

I slowed down to a walk once I got close to Urahara's; one because I was completely out of breath, and two, because I arrived. Jinta and Ururu were outside, trying to clean up as usual. The three modified souls in stuffed animals named Ririn, Cloud, and Nova immediately stared at me. All three of their heads had snapped toward me actually; their eyes narrowed. What was their problem?

"Hi Ururu, hi Jinta," I waved at the two children.

"Hello, Azumi-san," Ururu bowed.

I brought her up and patted her black-haired head.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ururu? You can just call me Azumi!" I smiled.

"O-Okay, I-I'm sorry," she stuttered.

I rolled my eyes and patted her head again.

"Urahara here?" I asked.

"He's in the back," the red-headed boy said, picking up his broom and swinging it like a sword.

"Thanks, Jinta," I smiled and walked past the two of them and into the shop.

"Urahara!" I called.

At first nothing happened, but then as I walked further back into the shop, the said man came out with his usual fan and cane.

"Azumi-chan! What brings you here?" He smiled that usual sneaky grin of his.

I stuck my hand into my pocket, clutching the letter as I spoke.

"I'm not supposed to be out right now so I'm in a hurry, but I-I was wondering if you could help me,"

"With what exactly?" he asked, his tone nonchalant as he fanned himself.

I took out the letter and held it up to him.

"T-This explains everything, if you could please read it," I shifted uncomfortably onto my right leg.

He took the letter, but before he began reading it, he offered me a seat at the small table on the ground. I took the offer because I didn't know if my knees could handle my stress anymore.

Urahara sat at the opposite end, opening the letter carefully. He asked Tessai to bring us some tea, and within a minute he brought some. I wasn't in the mood for tea, but I had to be polite, so I drank it while Urahara began reading the letter.

I watched as his shadowed eyes scanned across the page; back and forth, back and forth. I realized I was staring, so I focused my gaze back down at the steaming cup in my hands—keeping them there without daring to look back up.

Silently, Urahara folded the letter back up and tucked it into the envelope, then pushed it towards me across the table. I took it wordlessly, my gaze still focused intently on the teacup.

"I see...this isn't something that happens everyday, Azumi-chan," Urahara said, in a slightly more serious tone.

"Y-Yeah I know," I swallowed harshly.

"D-Do you think that you can explain to me what a Bounto is?" I asked, peeking up at him.

He took a sip of his tea and then began fanning himself again.

"A long time ago, the Soul Society began conducting experiments on souls. I won't get too deeply into it, but there was an accident and the Bounto were created from it. The Soul Society believed them to be an abomination and sent them to the World of the Living to get rid of them. The Bounto have suffered greatly during their time here. They were not able to age, and therefore lived for centuries among humans. The Soul Society began to think of them as a threat and tried to eliminate them, but some escaped. Humans in each generation began to notice how certain individuals among them would not age, and would not die with them, so they began to spread rumors. Have you ever heard of vampires?"

"V-Vampires? Yes, I have. I read plenty of books about them; I've always been interested in folklore. They are immortals who need blood to survive. I've always been interested in them, although many people believe they're demons," I answered.

"Exactly; humans have named the Bounto 'vampires,'" Urahara looked at me.

"Wait a second," I paused, taking it in. "I-I'm a vampire?"

Urahara nodded; my expression went blank.

"Azumi-chan?" Urahara looked at me curiously.

I realized I was still talking with Urahara.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I-I was just thinking!" I tried to hold back a blush.

"Okay, go on."

He looked me over once—a tad bit confused—and continued anyway.

"One thing that the humans have gotten wrong is that the vampires, or Bounto, do not feed off blood—they feed off souls. Whether they like blood or not, I don't know, but it's the souls that they mainly feed on,"

I nodded and he continued.

"In the past, the Bounto would wait to eat souls of those who were about to pass on, but some fed off _living souls,_ or souls of the those still living as humans, which gave them more power. It did take a toll on them though; they would start aging fast, but still wouldn't die. Do you understand so far?"

I nodded again.

"So just to clarify, they fed mainly on souls, but it's unknown whether or not they fed off blood too. Correct?" I asked; he nodded.

"Now, onto something important; a few months ago, a band of Bounto led by a man named Kariya tried to destroy Soul Society in revenge for what they did to the Bounto. They fed off living souls and acquired more power than you can imagine. And with the help of Ishida Uryuu, they made it into the Soul Society. Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends, along with the Gotei 13, eliminated them once and for all. And since then, they have not been heard of—until now that is," He dropped his gaze to me again; I shivered.

"S-So, the Bounto were the bad guys then?"

"Yes," Urahara said.

I started crawling back a little bit, fear rippling through me.

"A-Are you going to kill me?"

He started laughing and waving his fan really fast again.

"Of course not Azumi-chan! I would never kill you! You're too cute and innocent for that! You didn't know," He said gently, laughing.

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding in, and eased up.

"Thank you," I bowed.

"No, no, Azumi-chan! You don't have to thank me for anything!" He smiled.

I smiled back and scooted back to the table.

"My concern however," he began, "is how you've been feeding." He shut his fan and looked at me; I shrugged.

"Do you remember yourself doing anything...unnatural lately?" he asked.

Then it clicked—it all made sense now.

"Did Toushirou tell you about what happened to me in regard to my living situation?" I asked.

He nodded.

"My condolences," he said, turning a little glum.

"It's okay, really," I smiled.

"But, you don't know the whole story. I didn't tell Toushirou this because I didn't want to seem like a freak, and didn't know how to really explain it," I began.

"Fire away," he smiled, crossing his arms.

"Okay, well, you know how I said that Ulquiorra killed his own minions? That's only _partially_ true. I don't know how...but I was the main cause of injury. When they mercilessly killed my parents, my reiatsu flared and I somehow created a red, energy-ball-thing in my hand. And although it was small, it made a huge explosion—which resulted in me blasting one of them in half. But that's not all," I paused.

"When I was about to kill the one that killed my parents, I...well...it's a little embarrassing, but I bit him. I know why now, but it was weird because I really, _really,_ wanted to—like some weird yearning to do so. Like I said—embarrassing. Then after I bit him, and sucked out a good amount of blood, I attempted to kill him with that energy-ball thing. Then Ulquiorra stepped in and deflected my attack. And then I all of a sudden was able to run really fast—like I was using flash-step—and I grabbed and threatened Ulquiorra. He threw me against the wall of course, and then left because he sensed the others coming." I explained.

"I see, you probably fed off that arrancar you bit, and it's highly likely that you injured the other one with a Cero," Urahara concluded.

"But that's not all," I continued. He looked up at me.

"I don't know whether this was just from shock, but all of a sudden, blackness clouded my vision. It started spreading rapidly from the corner of my right eye, going slowly but surely towards my left. I don't know, but I thought that was weird." I finished.

"I see; the Arrancar part of you began taking over," he muttered more to himself than me. "Anything else?"

"One thing actually, I don't know if this relates or anything, but it was weird. I woke up this morning in an alley with most of my clothes ripped off. I have no idea how or when I got there; I just woke up like nothing. I thought that maybe Toushirou and the others were trying to play a prank on me or something, but it turns out that they were searching for me all morning. So it couldn't have been them," I concluded.

"Azumi-chan, this is really important. Do you remember dreaming about _anything_ last night?" Urahara looked at me seriously.

"I did have a dream last night, but it was all really hazy and blurry, so I don't remember most of it. But I do remember moving blurs that came occasionally," I answered, swallowing hard.

Urahara closed his eyes and crossed his arms, deep in thought. I shifted uncomfortably again and tried to shake the feeling by taking a sip of my tea. He set his fan on the table suddenly, making a loud snap noise that made me almost spit out my tea everywhere.

"Azumi-chan, I've figured it out." He began.

I set my teacup down and looked at him.

"Whenever you need to feed, you subconsciously turn into your Hollow form and hunt down souls. I think that's the most logical explanation of what happened this morning or late last night. In a way, it makes sense for you to revert back to your Hollow form. From the looks of it, you do not have a Doll,"

"A _Doll_?" I asked, remembering my mother mentioning it in the letter vaguely.

"Yes, a 'Doll.' Much like how Shinigami have Zanpakuto—a somewhat extension of their own souls—so do Bounto. Except, a Bounto's Doll is different. In a way they are connected, but Dolls do not necessarily take the form of a sword, they take the form of something different depending on each Bounto. As for Arrancar, they also have Zanpakuto, except that when they release their Zanpakuto, it reverts them back into their former Hollow form. Do you follow?" he asked.

"Yeah, got it," I said slowly.

"As I've said, each Doll is different. For example, from what I've gathered, your mother's Doll was fire-based. It was summoned by the friction she made from her metal claw and bracelet. Although I've never seen it in action in person, I heard it was pretty powerful," he mused.

"Wait, _was_?"

He stopped his rambling.

"As she said in the letter, your mother was a special type of Bounto—she could reproduce. Kariya—the leader of the Bounto that tried to take over Soul Society—used her for that purpose. She died trying to stop him," he said hesitantly.

" _There goes any hope of ever meeting her..."_

"O-Oh, I see," I twiddled my thumbs.

"Well, at least it was for a good cause." I smiled the best I could. "Is there anything else that I need to know about the Bounto?" I asked, not losing focus on my thumbs.

"Not really, that's mainly all that you need to know. Now the question is, what do we do with you?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Urahara, could you please not tell anyone about this? I want this to strictly be between the two of us. I don't want to cause any more problems," I pleaded.

"Sure thing Azumi-chan, not even Hitsugaya-Taichou?"

"Definitely not him."

"Okay, okay, my lips are sealed. But, we need to figure out how to get this situation under control, that's for sure." He said, lifting up a hand to place on his chin.

"Urahara,"

"Hmm?"

I switched to sitting on my knees.

"Is there a way to create, or attain a Doll?" I asked; he nodded.

"Then, if it's not too much to ask, can you help me get one?" I asked, determined.

He smirked.

"Of course I can, Azumi-chan,"

I smiled before he continued.

"But, the way you are now, you would surely die." He finished.

My smile dropped and I gulped.

"W-What do you suggest I do then?" I asked.

He stood up, still smirking at me.

"Train. I will train you, and when I think you're ready, we'll create a Doll." He opened his fan.

I stood up as well.

"Thank you very much, Urahara!" I smiled.

"I'm curious about some things as well, so, come back tomorrow and we'll begin training. I'm going to let Tessai and the others living here know. They will help you in your training, and they will be the only ones to know about you, okay?"

"Sure, that's fine." I smiled. "As long as they don't tell the others,"

"Of course," he assured. "I have a question; did Ririn, Cloud and Nova give you odd stares when you came here today?"

I remembered the stuffed animals glaring at me.

"As a matter of fact, they did now that you mention it,"

He started laughing.

"You see, the reason why they gave you weird looks is because I put Bounto sensors in them. They're probably in a panic right now because they haven't been of any usage since the last Bounto event," Urahara smiled that weird little smirk of his.

"Oooh," I sounded out.

"I was wondering why they did that. They didn't do that before though," I wondered.

"That seal that your mother placed on you when you were an infant has almost completely worn off. The reason I can think of as to why is because you've been surrounded by heavy reiatsu lately, and because of the last few nights and all." He explained.

"Ah, got it." I searched in my pocket for my phone.

"Hey Urahara, what do I do if I have to feed again?"

He was silent for a moment. He tipped his hat down with his left hand before responding.

"Then feed," he answered darkly.

"O-Okay, but what if this morning happens again?"

"Tell them that you were with me or something; I doubt that you'd feed again tonight. How many blurs did you say you saw in that dream?"

"It was more than one, that's for sure," I tried to count in my head.

"Then you should be fine for the time being; we just have to work on you being able to control what you do when you feed, that's all." He concluded.

"Okay then, I think I got it," I took out my phone, remembering the time.

"Ah! I have to go! Toushirou said I couldn't leave the house! I have to beat them home!" I said, panicking.

Urahara laughed again.

"Well, you better get going before they find out! And you have to come up with some kind of excuse to come back again tomorrow don't you? Just say that I called you and asked if you could help me around the shop—they'll buy that," he suggested.

"Good plan!" I pointed at him, grinning.

"Well, I'm gonna go now! Thanks a lot, Urahara!" I bowed and ran out.

"No problem, Azumi-chan!" Urahara shouted after me.

"Bye Tessai! Bye Ururu! Bye Jinta! Bye Ririn, Cloud, and Nova!" I shouted without looking back.

I heard their faint goodbyes as I continued my sprinting.

-[×]-

During my running, I felt the phone in my pocket start to sound off. I stopped momentarily to take it out.

It was Toushirou.

_**4 MISSED CALLS** _

I was in for it now.

I decided not to answer—I'd just quickly go to the grocery store and pick up some stuff and head back.

I stopped at a grocery store that was probably about a five minute walk from my house. I literally ran around the store like a mad woman to get some essentials. I got just enough to carry, then hurried and paid and made my way home. I fast-walked down the street with the grocery bags—since I couldn't sprint anymore—and finally arrived at my doorstep.

I wasn't there for more than a few seconds when I heard the deadbolt unlock. Oh God.

Rangiku opened the door.

"Somebody's in troubllllle," She greeted in her sing-song voice; she didn't do it with mal-intent, so I wasn't mad at her.

"Shh!" I widened my eyes at her since my hands and arms were preoccupied.

"I know I am; here, take this bag please," I handed one bag to Rangiku.

She looked shocked at first at the weight, but then shut the door and shook it off. We walked to the kitchen to see Toushirou sitting at the table again, preoccupied with his phone as usual.

"Heeeey," I began.

"How's it goin?" I tried to play coy as I set the groceries down.

He snapped his phone shut with his thumb.

"What did I ask you _not_ to do before I left?"

Well damn—he got straight to the point.

I cleared my throat as I put the groceries away.

"Leave the house," I answered sheepishly.

"And what did you do?" He asked.

I coughed.

"I left the house…" I trailed off sheepishly.

"Takashita—" he started but I interrupted.

"I know what I did was wrong, but I figured that you guys would be too tired to go with me after fighting against the Hollows! I mean, you guys _are_ like superheroes you know? Who am I to ask the two of you to perform such miniscule tasks when the two of you are exhausted? An asshole, that's who. So I took the liberty of taking care of the miniscule task so the two of you can relax. It didn't even take too—"

"Cut the flattery out, Takashita." Toushirou cut me off.

"An order is still an order, and you need to oblige when—"

"Who are you, my Dad?" I cut him off.

Great, my Dad flashed into my mind again.

I wasn't completely over what happened yet, but I wouldn't lose to depression, so I shook my head violently to get it out of my head.

"It's none of your business where I'm at—besides, I said that if I was in trouble I'd make my reiatsu go wild. There's nothing to worry about Mr. Worry-pants!" I teased.

"This isn't about being worried—this is about following orders. It's my job to watch you, so I have to know where you are at all times. Not only that, but its all for _your_ safety as well. With what happened, they could try to harm you at any time; you need to be protected at all costs." He retorted sternly.

"If that's all the groceries you picked up, then you didn't just stop at the store. On top of that, it didn't take Matsumoto and I too long to deal with the Hollows. We were back in less than 15 minutes; you were gone for almost an hour. Where were you, Takashita?" He asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

I finished putting the groceries in the fridge and cupboards before replying.

"Fine. If you must know,Urahara called me and asked if I could help him out with some things at the shop. He said it was urgent and wouldn't take more than 15 minutes. So that's where I've been all this time. I thought that it was an emergency, so I went. If you think about it, I was technically safer there with them than here by myself—so at least there's that. I didn't want to chance distracting the two of you mid-fight either; you could have gotten hurt." I paused, taking a quick breath.

I completely just blamed it on Urahara. Well, he said to make up an excuse they could buy—it didn't make me feel any less guilty about it though.

"Look, regardless, you are right and I am wrong. I should've listened to you. I'm sorry for my behavior; I won't do it again. However, there is something you have to understand. I can't—no matter how much you try—be attached to your hip. There's going to be times where you can't always be there; on top of that, it isn't fair to keep me like some animal in a cage. But, if you'll work with me I'll work with you."

He didn't say anything—surprisingly—he just let me continue.

"I'll follow orders if you—every once on a while—allow some freedom. I'm not a huge social butterfly; I don't have any friends beside you guys, but it would be nice to make a simple trip to the store down the street by myself. Most of the time I love having you or Rangiku go with me everywhere, but everyone needs time to themselves." I shrugged.

He exhaled loudly then took another sip of his tea.

"Urahara also asked for my help again tomorrow and said he's going to pay me for it. He said that I can start working for him by helping around the shop for a little cash. Since my parents' money isn't going to last forever, I was seriously thinking about taking it. It's not like I have family I could turn to for support once you all return to the Soul Society." I concluded.

Even though most of it was a lie, I actually impressed myself with the amount of facts I sprinkled throughout my rebuttal. I felt bad about it, but at that point I had to do whatever I could to get at least a little bit of freedom. Heaven forbid I lost control of my Hollow-self and attacked them.

He didn't say anything at first, but I could feel suspicion rising from him—I cringed in suspense.

"You do make a few valid points, however, until we figure out what's going on, I'm not comfortable in giving into your demands just yet. I can work with you on a few things, but not everything. Whether you like it or not, I'm in charge of your well being and safety. Even though it seems unfair, it's for the best. We'll talk more about it as time goes on. As far as working for Urahara goes; I suppose it gives you some income at the least and you _would_ be protected while you're there. I'm fine with you working for him, but I want someone escorting you from time to time. Reasonable?" He asked.

I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Reasonable." I replied.

It wasn't complete freedom, but it was a start. I was just glad that at least he was willing to work with me.


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you sure that you're not trying to kill me?" I asked, cringing at Urahara's wicked gaze.

"No, no, no, Azumi-chan! I would never _ever_ think about killing you! Okay, maybe hurting, but it's only necessary and unavoidable!" Urahara laughed.

"That _doesn't help_ me!" I shouted.

Shihouin Yoruichi—the woman that could change into a cat on demand and the Goddess of Flash—stood next to Urahara; her dark hands resting on her hips in a bored look. She tilted her head and cracked her neck with a smirk on her face, her purple hair swaying as she cracked both sides.

"Are you ready, Azumi?" She asked.

I stared at her in fear, but she just seemed to be amused by it. I looked over at Urahara in a whimper.

"Are you serious?" I stared with puppy eyes.

He nodded.

"Of course! The first step to all training is to _at least_ know how to fight in hand to hand combat, and Yoruichi is perfect for the job! You'll do fine Azumi-chan!" He smiled that kiddish smile of his.

I whimpered quietly, even though they could probably hear me.

" _Okay, I have to think of a way to_ not _get hurt,"_

I clenched my fists.

" _Damn! I can't think of anything!"_

"Alright, Azumi, I'm coming whether you're ready or not. Let's see how strong you are so we can know where to begin," she cracked her knuckles with a smirk and dashed toward me.

I involuntarily squeaked and held up my fists.

" _All right, all right, here she comes!"_

Yoruichi all of a sudden vanished and kicked my legs out, making me fall on my butt.

" _Damn it!"_

"I'm not done!" She shouted fiercely.

She was on her feet again, and a downward kick was coming my way. I cursed under my breath in fear, and rolled away right before contact.

Sure, I was all right, but the floor sure as Hell wasn't. I quickly sprang to my feet—my fists raised again as I waited for her to come. She smirked and balled her right hand into a fist.

"See if you can block this!" she shouted.

Just as she went in for the blow, I automatically and unconsciously broke her right-straight by pushing it to the side with my left forearm, and then with my other fist I aimed for her head.

" _I can just feel my inner yellow belt from age six coming out!"_ I mused triumphantly, but of course not for long.

Right before my fist made contact, she caught me by the wrist. She smirked and flung me away with ease. I crossed my arms in front of me and even though I hit the ground, I still kept rolling until I was stopped by a boulder.

The 'training' continued for a few more hours, and I showed absolutely no signs of improvement. At least Yoruichi figured out where to begin though. She talked about my 'form' and stuff like that, but I really wasn't paying too much attention. All that I knew was that I basically sucked and needed to start from the very beginning.

A few weeks passed by, and luckily Toushirou and Rangiku were on patrol mostly the entire time. I had skipped school for most of that time since I wasn't really over what happened, but I did make an effort to go to Urahara's everyday for 'work.'

Urahara agreed that I could still go to school and then train afterward—since I'm doing everything in secret. Although the training was short, I had gotten a lot stronger for sure. But I still needed a lot more work before I could actually make a huge impact. Yoruichi luckily taught me a little bit about flash-stepping, and I surprisingly was decent at it. I always thought that I'd be the first to fall and break my teeth, but I have yet to fall at all.

I finally went back to school after several weeks of missing out. I had so much work to catch up on it was unreal. I tried to not think about it as I stared in a daze out the window during my English class.

"All right, Seniors," My English teacher began.

"The day that you've all been waiting for is just around the corner! This year's Prom is almost here! Are you all excited?" She beamed with excitement for us, squealing like she was still a schoolgirl herself.

Chatter and the low buzz of gossip erupted right then, and I just sighed and looked out the window next to me. Thank God I had a window seat. It was in the back too—which was great for sleeping.

Prom did have me thinking though; I'd always wanted to go to a dance with someone—although I absolutely suck at dancing and hate it. I wanted to go just because it's supposed to be an event that 'you will never forget.'

In all the movies I'd seen, Prom had been a 'magical' night, one that you'd be a freaking moron to miss. Truthfully, if I ever went to any dances—especially Prom—I wanted it to be really special. And when I say 'really special' I mean, something utterly romantic. But, of course, that won't ever happen—silly me.

I smiled and rolled my eyes at myself and stared at the tree outside again.

"Ah, yes, I'd almost forgotten because of all this Promenade talk; Class, we have a new student. I'd like to introduce Hideki Katsu," She gestured towards the door.

Everyone went silent as the boy walked through the door.

One word to describe him: _damn_.

This boy was stunningly beautiful; it actually surprised _even me._ He had hazel eyes, black hair, and strong facial features along with a nice body—I assumed. He smiled this weird crooked smile, and walked to the front of the classroom next to the teacher.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell the class about yourself Hideki-san?" The teacher asked.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and shook his head.

"Umm, I hope to be friends with all of you," he said, a little shyly.

His voice was actually a little deep for his age, which kind of caught me a little off guard because it was surprisingly kinda attractive.

" _What the Hell am I thinking?"_ I shouted at myself while shaking my head.

"Okay then, let's find you a seat," the teacher looked around and spotted the open seat next to me.

Great.

"How about right there next to Takashita-san? Please raise your hand Takashita-san." She asked.

I huffed and raised my hand. Great, now this stupid pretty boy would sit next to me.

" _Please God, let him be like the others and just ignore me."_ I pleaded.

Hideki walked gracefully toward the seat to my right, and sat down almost soundlessly.

"I sincerely hope that you enjoy being with us, Hideki-san!" The teacher smiled and turned back toward the white board to continue the lesson before the talk of the Prom had began.

"Now, please open your textbooks to page 313 and I'll explain tonight's homework," she kept blabbering on as usual.

Of course the inevitable happened.

"Your name was Takashita correct? May I ask what your first name is?" Hideki asked in that unusually deep voice of his.

"Azumi." I said, making it a point to not make eye contact with him by flipping through the pages in my textbook.

"Azumi," he said slowly; making sure to pronounce it right.

"What a fascinating name, A-zu-mi," he pronounced again.

"It's quite enchanting," He smiled.

"Look Hideki, I'm only gonna say this once; flattery will get you no where." I said dryly.

"Hmm, I'll be sure to note down your temper, Azumi-chan, it's nice to meet you by the way," he smiled crookedly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." I cut off the conversation by reading my textbook.

" _What's up with this guy?"_

I then had a somewhat disturbing thought, and shivered involuntarily. He of course took notice of it, and used it as a gateway for more conversation.

"Are you cold, Kawaii-chan?" He asked.

Okay, I couldn't help but blush at that one. Could you blame me though? What would you do if a hot guy just called _you_ cute?

"Don't call me that; and no, I'm fine." I grabbed my school jacket and put it on; I had it off because the teacher had the heater on earlier.

"But why not? It suits you, _Kawaii-chan_ ,"

I hadn't noticed, but his desk was now close to mine, and he was right next to me. He lightly and almost _seductively_ took a lock of my hair and ran his fingers through it. I whacked his hand and looked away, my face embarrassingly red—much to my dismay.

" _Dude, what the hell?"_ I shouted at myself.

"Don't touch me, _Hideki_ ," I spat as viciously as I could muster.

He smirked and let out a low chuckle as the bell for lunch rang.

"Class dismissed." My teacher announced.

I quickly took my books and ran out of there before Hideki could say anything else to me. I maneuvered through the crowd as fast as I could toward the rooftop.

" _Who the hell does he think he is? Stroking my hair like that! Like he's known me all my life or something! Freaking asshole! And what's with this damn blushing anyway? That guy's a seductive jerk that's probably a player and enjoys breaking girl's hearts for the Hell of it! That's it; it's decided. I'm going to_ purposely _avoid him. Not going to talk to him or_ anything. _Yeah, hopefully he'll get the message and keep those filthy tanned hands to himself. Humph!"_

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku sang as she floated toward me. "How's your day going so far?" she smiled.

I didn't need to hear it put into words; I knew she was asking how my day went while coping with my loss.

That freaking seductive bastard Hideki popped into my head, I tried hard not to shiver.

"It was all right, the same as always." I stated.

Toushirou surprisingly walked over to us.

"Um, Azumi-chan," Rangiku began.

"Yeah?"

"Why're you blushing?" She asked inquisitively.

" _What the? I'm still freaking blushing? What the Hell, dude!"_

My eyes widened slightly and I unconsciously took a step back.

"I am not blushing—it's simply very cold today," I concluded to Rangiku as well as myself.

She bent down to eye level with her eyes squinted accusingly, and stared at me.

"Are you sure? I know a blush when I see one." She retorted sharply.

"Yes I'm sure, all right?" I said sheepishly and backed up.

"Personal space Rangiku, personal space." I tried to play it off.

She stood up straight again, and with a long 'hmm,' walked away to probably go bug Orihime or something. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding, and noticed that Toushirou was staring at me.

We had gotten over our episode from a few weeks back, and it was back to our usual attitude toward each other. It was a relief that he wasn't too mad at my risky actions; he got over it rather quickly. The only thing that I noticed however, was that there was some weird aura I sensed coming from him ever since. It wasn't malicious or angry or anything of that intent, but something was definitely up. He acted strangely around me—guarded almost.

I stared right back at him—my blush still in full effect—and when he didn't say anything, I did.

"Is there any way I can be of assistance?" I asked flatly.

"No." He replied, turning around and walking away to his ledge again.

"Who let you out of your cage anyway!" I shouted at him, huffing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He turned around and lightly glared at me.

"Shush!" I said quickly, practically cutting him off.

He rolled his eyes at my hyper, not to mention childish behavior and turned around again.

I chuckled for a few seconds before coming up with the idea to sneak up on him from behind. It was sure to make me laugh and get me out of the awkwardness Hideki left me in; right?

I went into stealth-mode and crept up behind him, hiding behind any big objects that were near. He leaned against his ledge, and I quickly came at him from behind—wrapping my right arm around his neck and bringing him halfway down while poking his stomach repeatedly.

"Takashita! What the Hell are you doing?" He yelled at me.

I couldn't stop myself—I laughed so hard my stomach started hurting. His facial expression was priceless; definitely worth my childish behavior.

He pushed me away with an irritated grunt and glared icily at me—which increased my laughter tenfold.

"What the Hell's your problem, baka!" he yelled at me, combing his fingers through his hair.

"Geez Toushirou, it's called messing around! I was just playing with you! Why don't you try cheering up once in a while, huh?" I patted his head.

If Toushirou were a dog, he would definitely be growling at me.

"Knock it off, or else," he threatened.

"Oooh, I'm so scared! 'Widdle Shirou-chan's gonna get back at me!" I squeaked dramatically with a smirk afterward, leaning against the ledge, crossing my arms.

"Hah, yeah right, you wouldn't,"

"You think so?" He prompted.

"Pffft, I know so!" I yanked down an eyelid and stuck out my tongue, then turned my back to him.

Suddenly—without warning—we were at the wall behind the shed that was far way from the group; making it impossible for the others to see. Toushirou had me up against the wall with my wrists pinned above my head with just one of his hands. His body and face mere inches to mine, with a smirk I'd never seen before spread on his face as he rested his left arm against the wall next to me.

"Still think so?" His teal eyes stared at mine in a weird, triumphant way—almost possessive.

I was frozen, and definitely couldn't think; there was absolutely no doubt that my face was red.

"U-Uh, I, uh, wha—why...huh?" I slurred out slowly, the thing occupying the cavity in my skull gone.

He closed his eyes, that new smirk still on his face. He loosened his grip on my wrists and they fell down limply back to my sides. He stuck one of his hands in his pockets and turned around.

"That's what I thought. See? You're no match against me," He said triumphantly; quickly getting in a poke at my stomach as he walked away—leaving me behind the shed.

I was definitely brain-dead.

I suddenly forgot who I was, where I was, and all other things besides breathing. The only thought in my head was the image of this new—kind of seductive—Toushirou. What was all _that_ about? A simple argument would have sufficed, but...

I couldn't even _finish_ that sentence. Holy, freaking, crap.

I started coughing to try to snap myself out of this weird, unnatural feeling he left me with—shaking my head as well. What kind of feeling was this? It wasn't like I was scared he'd hurt me; it was more of a heart-racing, butterfly type of feeling. Is this really what seduction feels like?

"Why the duce is everyone trying to seduce me today?" I whimpered aloud.

I dusted myself off and looked toward the right, where I'd be visible to everyone once I stepped away from the shed. I sighed and took a step back, looking at the wall where the previous scene had taken place.

"There'll be no living with him after this..." I trailed off, plastering on my usual façade before stepping out into the open.

-[×]-

School ended, and the rest of the day consisted of sweating and practically running for my life from Yoruichi. After the training ended, I was reluctant to go home—for obvious reasons. Even so, I left Urahara's and started walking.

How the Hell was I supposed to face him? It was one thing to avoid him, but now I _lived_ with him. I think I'll just go easy on the teasing—for health purposes.

The cold breeze helped cool me off, and dried up some of the sweat on my forehead. I stopped, set my bag down, and took off my sweater so my body could cool down a little bit. It felt really nice; I smiled and inhaled deeply, running my fingers through my overly-long bangs covering my forehead. I'd forgotten they were drenched in sweat—gross. I was definitely jumping directly into the shower when I got home.

I wiped my forehead, tied my sweater around my waist, and picked up my bag, before I started walking again. Not paying attention to where I was going—as usual—I bumped into someone.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" I bowed my head in apology, my eyes scrunched shut.

"Don't worry about it, baka,"

" _Oh crap. Think of the freaking devil."_

I squinted open one of my eyes to see the white-haired boy standing in front of me. He gave me a questioning gaze for a second; his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and then placed a hand on my forehead.

"What happened? Do you have a fever? You're face is red," he asked, hand still on my forehead.

"N-No, I'm fine!" I yelped a little.

Oh how I wanted to smack myself.

He took his hand back when I turned my head away, and stuck it back into his pocket.

"What's Urahara making you do? You're worn out." He said as he turned around and started walking; me following sheepishly behind.

"Uh, he's just making me help clean up the house and move stuff, and stuff..." I trailed off.

He didn't say anything—his lie detector was probably going haywire.

"Anyway," I started before he could, "what're you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up; I already don't like the fact that you're by yourself, but now it's almost dark out."

I searched into my bag for my cell phone and saw that it was 6:30 p.m. "It's not that late," I mumbled to myself.

"You never know when a Hollow could show up,"

"I know, I know."

He became slightly tense all of a sudden—well, more than usual anyway—and slowed down his pace.

"Look, about earlier—I was only teasing. Just forget about it. Okay?" He said.

I looked at him; his façade wasn't letting up as he looked forward.

"O-Okay," I managed to say.

"Good."

"But, can I ask why you...you know...I figured you would just yell at me like you usually do," I forced a small chuckle as a form of tension release, but failed miserably.

He closed his eyes either in thought or annoyance, and gave a simple, slightly irritated answer.

"I don't know."

The way he said it gave me an uneasy feeling. It was like he wasn't particularly irritated at the question, but at his own three-worded answer. Even though I was a little reluctant about it, I decided to keep the peace by just 'forgetting' about it. Yeah, that will definitely work...not.

"Well, pish-posh-applesauce; it's in the past. I won't bring it up; no worries." I smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

He thought I couldn't hear it, but he quietly let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Well," I exhaled, "Let's hurry up and get home _Shirou-chan_ , I'm tired." I smirked.

I heard a grunt—there was the old Toushirou!

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Hitsugaya-Taichou, _Taichou,_ "

"Can I call you Shirou-Taichou?"

"No!"

I laughed, and amazingly, Toushirou had a _hint_ of a smile. A _hint_. Was he finally warming up to me?

We'd gotten home, and began our nightly routines; I ate, showered, and got ready for bed. While changing in my room, I found something I'd forgotten about through all the madness. I took the towel off my head, and set it next to me on the bed as I stared at the glossed paper in my hands.

It was that picture of my parents and I that I'd found in my mother's drawer. I smiled at the mini me, tears already set in motion and accidently landing on the shiny layer of the photograph.

I dragged my bag over to me and took out my folder. I took out the useless band-logos and names, and put the picture under the clear film instead; right in the middle. I smoothed out the film to get all the air out of it, and after one last look, put it back in my bag amidst all the other useless school supplies.

Maybe, just maybe, Mom and Dad were still alive somewhere...somehow. I didn't know whether or not they'd make it to Soul Society, but it was worth hoping. It actually eased the pain lingering in my chest a little. No, not a little; a lot. Getting to see Mom and Dad again...I cried just at the thought. It made me happy to keep thinking that.

But then as usual, the doubt leaked in. What if they were eaten by Hollows? What if they went to Hueco Mundo instead? I shook my head to get rid of the thought; I didn't want to destroy this happiness. I wanted it to last desperately badly.

-[×]-

"Hey Toushirou," I called quietly.

We were both trying to sleep now, and the thought of my parents alive was still fresh in my mind.

"What?" He asked tiredly.

I curled up my legs and pulled my blanket up more. I clutched onto my pillow.

"D-Do you think that my parents are in the Soul Society? Do you think that they made it?" My voice was a little shaky—unfortunately.

He didn't answer at first, and I thought that maybe he fell asleep.

"I'm pretty sure they did, but we can never be for certain with those types of things." He replied.

"O-Oh, okay," I replied, taking a deep breath.

He turned to face my direction, although I was faced the opposite way.

"I'll promise you something though," he began.

"Hmm?"

"When I get back to Soul Society, I'll look into it for you. I'll see if they made it, and I'll see where they're at, okay?"

I was completely taken by surprise with his words; hope bubbling up inside.

"You promise?" I asked just above a whisper.

"Yes, I promise."

I felt so incredibly warm inside at his words. It definitely made me feel at ease, and took away some of the guilt. He turned around again, facing away from me.

"Toushirou,"

"Hmm?"

I turned around and hugged him, even though he was facing the other way.

"Thank you," I whispered.

I let go of him and turned back around, snuggling and making myself comfortable in my blanket.

"Good night, Toushirou," I said just before my eyes fluttered shut.

"Good night, Takashita" he said, just as I drifted off into an easier slumber.

_**Beep! Beep! Beep!** _

I rolled over and groaned.

"Five more minutes...just five more minutes," I mumbled.

Toushirou shifted and stretched.

"It's not your alarm," he yawned, "it's my Hollow detector."

He reached for the phone on the ground next to the bed, and flipped it open. The glow immediately shrank my pupils.

"It burns!" I whimpered and turned the other way, covering my head with my blanket.

"Just go back to sleep," he said.

As if on cue, Rangiku stumbled down the stairs—apparently still half-asleep.

"I'm ready to go, Taichou," she yawned and straightened herself up.

Toushirou popped in a Gikon pill, and walked over to the front door. "We'll be back,"

I looked at the clock—it was 2 in the morning—freaking Hollow.

"M'kay," I mumbled.

I don't know who it was, but one of them accidently slammed the door—which literally scared the sleepiness out of me. It was official, I was up now; there was no way I'd be able to sleep for at least another hour. I got up—the cold floor freezing my bare feet—and wrapped my blanket around myself to keep warm.

I yawned again and got a glass of water from the kitchen. I looked out the window that Toushirou somehow managed to get repaired, and saw the snow white moon glowing radiantly.

"How beautiful," I said absent mindedly.

I set the half-empty glass down on the counter and walked up to my room. I put on my comfy slippers, ditched my blanket for my pull over hoodie, and climbed out my window.

I sat near the middle part of the roof where I usually sat, and looked up at the glowing moon. I huddled for warmth, and rubbed my legs in hope of some friction; despite the nice moon, it was actually really cold.

A hair-raising sound disrupted the silence.

It sounded like the scraping of a vinyl from a record player—like an abrupt stop or a rip. I looked around, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What in the world would make that sound?

I looked up, and saw something dark and ominous next to the moon. Suddenly, Ulquiorra came to mind; that's exactly what he used to escape last time.

A dark figure emerged and floated there in the air while the vortex closed behind them—their reiatsu was completely masked.

I stood up, trying to prepare myself. The darkness subsided, and the moon's white glow revealed the person.

It most definitely wasn't Ulquiorra as I anticipated.

It was a girl, and not just _any_ girl—a _beautiful_ girl.

She had long, black hair running all the way down to her thighs and a nice womanly shape to her, albeit her youthful appearance made me second guess her. She was wearing a pure white miniskirt that was lined with black, and had black stockings that began a few inches down.

Her shirt was also white, but she was wearing black underneath it. The white one was low cut, haltered, and cropped while thr black one underneath outlined it. She was wearing white boots and weird white armor-looking things on her arms to complete the outfit.

One thing that did stick out though, was the white and blue Hollow mask covering the right side of her face, and creeping around her ear to the back of her head. She had intense blue eyes from what I could see, and they were aimed straight at me.

I gulped hard and stared back, waiting to see if maybe Toushirou and Rangiku would finally be back—they normally didn't take this long!

Suddenly, the girl disappeared, and in an instant, there was a tightness around my neck I'd never _ever_ experienced before. Her long nails dug into my neck as she pulled me closer.

"Bounto," she said.

Her voice matched her appearance; soft and beautiful, yet deadly.

With the strength I somehow managed to muster, I rose up one arm, and grabbed her wrist in an attempt to make her let go.

"W-Who—"

She smacked me across the face.

"Be silent, _Bounto_ ," she sneered.

I was having trouble breathing now, and my vision wasn't the best either; I couldn't take this for much longer.

"You will _not_ get involved with Hajime-Sama. You will not even _touch_ or _speak_ to Hajime-Sama. Do you understand, _Bounto_?"

I started gasping for breath.

Who was this _Hajime_ person she was talking about?

With all my might, I pushed her away, and fell immediately to my knees trying to regain my breath.

"I...don't know who you're talking about," I coughed.

She kicked me hard in the stomach. I coughed up blood harshly in response.

"You know _damn_ well who I'm talking about!" She snarled.

"He belongs to me, _not_ you! You have no right to take Hajime-Sama away from me, you bitch!" She grabbed me by my hair and pulled me up to eye level.

"I don't even know who the Hell you're talking about!" I shouted at her face.

She didn't listen; she flung me against the tree to our right, and with her fast speed met me right when I hit the trunk of the tree head-first. She quickly pinned me against the tree by my throat, and crept next to my ear.

"If you take him away from me, not only will I kill you, but I'm going to make you watch all your precious little friends die right before your eyes. You got that, Bounto?"

I didn't say anything, and she backed up to look me in the eye.

"You will speak of this to no one," she hissed.

I did my best to not look away from her intense eyes; not to show any fear. I heard the same ripping sound from before, and she shoved me back one last time before walking back out to my rooftop. I watched through the tree's foliage as she entered, and the vortex closed behind her.

"Hajime-sama," I whispered to myself. "Who in the world could that be?"

I crawled down the tree, breathless and in pain. I shuffled through my window and plummeted straight to the floor.

" _Where the Hell are Toushirou and Rangiku?_ "

I slowly got up and locked the window before walking to the bathroom. My mouth tasted like blood; it was disgusting but somehow pleasant at the same time.

I looked in the mirror at myself.

Sharp fangs protruded out, and were covered in my own scarlet blood that had dripped down my chin. My sight wavered for a moment, focusing on the droplet of blood that formed on the tip of one of my fangs. I quickly licked it without hesitation. Maybe brushing my teeth wouldn't be necessary. I licked my teeth and lips clean, and wiped the line of blood that escaped down my chin with my index finger, and sucked on it. So apparently Bounto fed off blood as well—even their own blood; that's sickening. Why does it taste so good though?

I looked up into my own eyes to see they were blood red.

I gasped and tried to desperately blink them back to normal. This wasn't good—not at all. If Toushirou and Rangiku were to come right then, I'd be screwed. I splashed some ice cold water on my face, and brushed my teeth although I didn't want to; I even freaking used some minty mouthwash. Finally, after splashing my face again, the redness in my eyes turned back into an orange-brown color, and I settled down a little bit.

I dried off my face, ran to get my blanket, and then ran down the stairs and jumped on my side of the bed.

Right at that moment, Toushirou and Rangiku walked in and quietly shut the door behind them. I tried to feign sleep as best as I could. One of them locked the deadbolt, and then Rangiku quietly walked up the stairs while Toushirou merged with his faux body and threw his blanket over himself as he laid down.

I peeked at the clock—it was 2:30 a.m. Funny how things happen so fast, yet feel like an eternity. I shifted uncomfortably, and shut my eyes.

' _You will speak of this to no one,'_

I took a deep breath.

All this lying and keeping secrets started making me feel like a criminal.


	11. Chapter 11

I gasped and shot up, sweat slicked all over my head and body from the newest nightmare I'd just endured.

"W-What's going on?" Toushirou asked in a panic—he must've woken up from my outburst.

His breathing finally calmed down a little bit as he looked at me.

"Nothing, just go back to sleep, okay Toushirou?" I said as gently as I could.

Placing a hand lightly on his shoulder, I pushed him back down gently.

He stared at me with confusion, and I just returned it with a smile. The poor guy probably thought something bad was happening, like a Hollow attack on the house or me having a heart attack or something.

I laid down as well to make him ease up and go back to sleep. I faced in his direction, as he was faced toward mine, and tried to make it seem like I was falling asleep.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, drowsiness apparent in his voice.

I smiled. "Mhm, just had a bad dream—that's all," I yawned and tried to make myself comfortable.

"Okay," he yawned as well.

I looked up at the clock and saw that we only had two more hours to sleep before we had to get ready for school. I squinted to see Toushirou practically already asleep—he almost looked like a child. The usual tension on his face was gone, and all his features were relaxed. I smiled, and suddenly sneezed. Sniffling, I rolled onto my opposite side and tried to sleep. Pressure suddenly began to build right between my eyes.

Yep, I had a cold….damn it.

Sluggishly, I got up from bed and switched off my shrieking alarm clock. Dizziness took over and I had to lean against the cabinet so as not to fall. While I tried to fight away the sinus pressure and dizziness, I heard a yawn and knew that Toushirou was up. I didn't see him, but I knew he was looking in my direction wondering why the Hell I was standing awkwardly in front of the alarm clock.

"What are you doing?" He asked, confirming my theory.

I sniffed and cleared my throat before a cough took over.

"Nothing," I said, standing up by myself again.

He said nothing else as I wobbled my way upstairs—like every morning—and went straight to the bathroom to get ready.

Note to self: Never, _ever_ , tell Rangiku you have a cold.

She tried to bundle me up like we were going to Antarctica! There was no way I'd walk around like that though, so she settled for me wearing a scarf and a thicker jacket than usual instead—thank God.

We parted ways as soon as we reached the school buildings, and went to our first classes.

Let me tell you how that went: horribly.

As per usual, I had a nasty, horrible coughing fit in the middle of Mrs. I'm-always-on-my-period's lecture—it just plain out sucked. Once you try to contain all the coughs, they come out in rougher, harsher coughs that are loud and unbearably embarrassing. And then, the best part is that everyone just _has to_ stare directly at you, and say things like: 'Ew,' or 'That's so disgusting,' or 'Why the hell does she have to be so gross?' and other stuff revolving around those phrases. Funny how they act like that's never happened to them before. Oh, of course not, right?

After about 3 more periods of coughing fits, it was lunch time. I walked up the stairway to the roof, still coughing and running dangerously low on water.

" _If I'm a Bounto-Arrancar-whatever, then why the Hell do I still get colds?"_ I mentally cursed, agitated.

I mean, if I was a…whatever, then wouldn't that mean that I wouldn't get sick like normal humans? Shouldn't I have had an immune system of freaking gold? Evidently not. I took out some money and put my bag down where I usually sit.

"Rangiku," I called hoarsely.

"How are you feeling Azumi-chan?" Rangiku asked walking up to me.

She paused, then placed her hand on my forehead to check for a fever.

"You're a little warm Azumi-chan, maybe you should stay inside the classroom for today," she suggested.

"You kidding me?" I coughed. "I've been out in _way_ worse conditions than this," I cracked a small smile. "Anyway, I'm gonna go get some more water, can you watch my stuff?"

"Sure, did you want someone to go with you?" She asked in an almost motherly way.

I shook the thought of my mother before the tears gathered.

"No," I coughed again.

"I'll be fine. Be back in a little bit," I turned and walked away before having another coughing fit.

Mentally cursing at my coughing, I descended down the stairs and toward the vending machine. As I walked, I thought about ditching my last two periods and going home to recuperate. In a way, it would be pointless, but, it would also make me feel a little better to be in a nice, warm bed with a steaming hot bowl of chicken noodle soup. Heaven, chicken-noodle-soup be thy name.

I opened the door to exit the building, and on my way to the vending machine caught sight of my old tree. I stopped in front of it, and touched it's trunk in reminisce. Despite always being alone, I really missed this old tree.

I covered my cough, and patted my tree for one last time before turning around.

"Well, if it isn't that half-naked goth girl,"

Upon turning around, the two girls in the group that saw me half-naked a couple weeks back surrounded me—cornering me against my tree.

"Did _you_ decide to wear clothes today, or did your parents make you?" The same girl continued.

"Ha, I knew you were a freak before, but I had no idea that you were a _slut_." The second witch cackled.

I took a step back—no doubt cherry-red by now—embarrassed and tongue-tied. What could I have said? What reason could I possibly make up to make my half-naked incident not so embarrassing? Instead of focusing on that, I focused on fighting back and defending myself from what the second Barbie doll said.

"I'm _not_ a _slut_ ," I managed to whisper out.

Shit, I was no good at fighting back when I was embarrassed. I always ended up making myself look more like a moron.

The second blonde outstretched her right leg and leaned on her left with her hands on her hips.

"Is that really all that you have to say? No comeback? Wow, I thought that you could _at least_ be smart enough to think of something to say, but I guess not," she said in 'polite' tone; only an adult wouldn't catch the sarcasm underneath the prettiness.

"Sorry," I began as I took a step forward and stifled a cough.

"I just didn't want to stoop to your bitchy-level and make fun of people without knowing the whole story." I shot back.

" _Oooh,_ the _freak_ said a bad word," the first blonde mocked.

"So what you're saying is: you'll make fun of people _after_ you know the whole story. And you call _me_ a bitch? That's pretty fucked." the second one came back.

"Wow, nice way to rearrange words. You know what? High school's almost over; why don't you fucking grow up and get with the program instead of picking on people?" I retorted.

"You sound like a 30 year old hag. You know, I think I liked you better when you were embarrassed and scared shitless running down the street." The first one grinned.

"You know, I think you're right! I liked her better then too," the second one smirked back.

I didn't notice it, but there was a group of kids that surrounded us. When and where they came from, I had no clue—I certainly didn't notice them before.

Suddenly, one of the blondes started taking a step closer toward me, the other following close behind.

"What are you doing?" I asked, taking a few steps back.

Still, they proceeded closer toward me. Suddenly, the second one grabbed the bottom hem of my skirt, and tried to yank it down. Lucky, I caught her before she got away with it.

"What the Hell is your problem?" I spat as I smacked her hand away as hard as I could.

"Ow!" She flinched back, holding her hand.

"You bitch! You did _not_ just hit me!"

"Touch me again and you'll see what'll happen to your pretty little teeth!" I snarled, puffing my chest up subconsciously.

"Little slut!" She spat back.

All of a sudden her partner grabbed my arms and held me against the tree while the she readied herself to punch me in the face.

"Let me go right now!" I struggled against her.

While the second blonde held me down, the one that I hit tried to look tough by cracking her knuckles—which didn't crack—and brought her right arm back, ready to punch me in the face. I stayed still and thanks to my little bit of training, strategized how to make my escape before she brought her fist in contact with my face.

" _First, I'll stomp on blonde number one's foot, then push her away and duck so that blonde number two's fist comes in contact with the tree, and then I'll—_ "

Before I could finish my thought, blonde number two came in for the kill. I raised my right leg high up, and as I was about to stomp down, someone intervened and caught the blonde's fist.

"Must everything result in violence Sayuri-chan?" Hideki whispered in the blonde's ear as the blonde's fist softened and relaxed.

"H-Hideki!" Blonde number two—or Sayuri _—_ stuttered, blushing.

Sayuri's partner released me and joined Sayuri and Hideki—no doubt trying to flaunt herself and look pretty for Hideki. I snorted and rolled my eyes at them while dusting myself off so I could leave.

"Sayuri, Miyuki, it's not very lady like to—"

"But, Hideki! She taunted us saying mean things like: 'bitch', 'whore', 'slut' and 'skank!'" The first blonde—Miyuki—said.

I just loved how they lied to cover their asses. I decided not to stay any longer and listen to their nonsense. My throat ached and I really wanted some water. Next time though, if any of them _touched_ me, they wouldn't be let off easily.

I walked away from them and finally got to the vending machine. I put in the right amount of money, and pressed the button with the picture of bottled water on it. The machine made a few banging noises, and the water bottle landed in the open slot on the bottom. As I bent down to get it, another hand took it first. I looked up to see the infamous Hideki Katsu opening my water bottle for me.

"For the beautiful, young lady," he smiled and held my water bottle in front of me.

I snagged it and took a drink.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically while twisting the cap on.

"So, what exactly _did_ you do to piss them off like that?" He asked, taking a step closer to me.

I couldn't tell whether or not he did that subconsciously, or on purpose—either way I stepped back.

"It's really none of your business, but since you saved me—although I had things under control—I'll tell you something. An accident happened a few weeks ago, and they saw it. So, they came to ridicule me for it, and because I defended myself, they felt the need to try to beat me up. So, there ya go, a couple of 'class A' bitches for ya." I huffed.

All this talking wasn't good, it was making me want to cough even more.

"Had things under control? It sure didn't look like it," he smirked.

"But, I'll believe you. Well, that sounds about right for those two; they look like the type to lie to make themselves look like angels when it's they who are the demons." Hideki concluded.

"Very true; I'm glad someone else realized that besides just me. That means they haven't successfully brainwashed you like all the others yet. Keep thinking like that and maybe you'll just slide by like me." I sarcastically smirked.

"Well, I feel special," he smiled, as he delicately took my scarf and played with it.

I tried to tug it away as nicely as I could, but he held on. Almost like a rope, he pulled himself to me and looked directly into my brown hues.

"If you ever need protection, I'll be there for you, okay, Kawaii-chan?" he smiled.

For some reason, my face started getting hot, and to make him back off, I quickly cleared my throat.

"I'm sick—don't get so close," I turned my head and coughed as proof.

As I turned back around, he suddenly grabbed my head with his cool hands, pushed my bangs aside, and bent down to put his forehead against mine.

He closed his eyes, and I blushed and gulped hard—not taking my widened eyes off him. I couldn't move, my hands shook with nervousness. I wasn't used to someone of a different gender being this close to my face—I couldn't handle it!

He exhaled and moved his head away— _thank God_ , I was about to have a nervous breakdown—but his hands still lingered on my face, his right thumb sweeping my left cheek gently.

"It seems you do have a fever—a high one at that. Please, allow me to escort you to the nurse Azumi-chan." He offered.

I lightly shook his hands off and backed up; clearing my throat. This time though, I cleared it for the sake of trying to get rid of the awkwardness, not for the phlegm.

"N-No, that's okay, we only have two more periods before we get to go home. I think I'll be able to survive 'til then." I protested.

"Please, I insist. I wouldn't want my poor Kawaii-chan to faint from her high fever during class," he replied smoothly.

Wait.

Hold the phone.

Did he just say ' _my_ Kawaii-chan?' ' _My_?' Since when was I his? I cringed.

"What are you talking about? I feel fine, don't worry about it." I tried to sound convincing.

But of course, as if on cue, I had a coughing fit and started feeling light-headed.

" _Oh yeah, that's just_ totally _convincing. Stupid body!"_ I cursed at myself while coughing.

Hideki rubbed my back in a soothing gesture as I opened my water bottle and took a drink to help the coughing subside.

"Well, you don't sound _fine_ at all, please, just come with me to the nurse." He rested his hand on the small of my back and gently urged me forward with him.

I sighed and growled under my breath. There was no use; he was right—I felt like crap. Minus well just go to the nurse and go home so I can hurry up and get better.

"Fine, I'll go with you to the stupid nurse. Just let me get my bag first," I told him.

"I'll get your bag for you while the nurse inspects you; you eat on the rooftop correct?" He asked.

"Yeah, but—"

"Don't worry, I'll explain to your friends your condition and that I'm escorting you home. Now come on, let's hurry to the nurse before lunch ends." His fingers all of a sudden curved around my side as he hurried me forward.

I blushed, not knowing what to say.

Sure, it felt delightful, but I wasn't used to it. It was still strange and exotic to me that I wasn't sure if I should've just smacked his hand off or helped him grab me more securely. The second seemed to be the winner of that argument, but, I did nothing. I let it just rest there for the time being, although I unfortunately still blushed.

"O-Okay, do you know which one's mine?" I asked.

"Yes, I know which one it is—the black one correct?"

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered.

I realized that I'd overlooked something he said. _He's 'escorting me home?'_

"Hey, what do you mean you're 'escorting me home?'" I asked, inspecting his facial expression.

He smirked, the right corner of his lips turning upward while he lightly chuckled in that deep voice of his.

"I mean that exactly. I'll be escorting you home to make sure nothing happens to you." He responded.

"But you'll be missing class,"

"Ditching is healthy." He quickly replied.

"But, I'll be fine. Besides, they won't let you out; you don't have a pass."

"I'll just say that I have an unscheduled fifth and sixth period." He reassured.

"But—!"

"Oh, stop all you're 'but-ing!' It'll be fine, trust me," he smiled, his hazel hues staring into mine.

It was weird.

Something about his gaze struck me. It felt like we were wolves and he was the alpha; his gaze strong and reassuring like he had authority over me. I cleared my throat again and faced forward, defeated.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with." I said with a strong façade as we walked into the office towards the nurse's room.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The nurse said, crossing one hand over the other.

"Hello ma'am, my cousin is running a high fever, and I'd like to take her home so she can heal up," Hideki explained, his voice smooth and convincing.

"Well," the nurse began, getting out of her chair and walking towards us.

"Let's have a look see," she finished as she ushered me to sit down on the chair.

She walked over to the counter by the sink and squirted some hand sanitizer into her palm and rubbed it into her skin. Then, she reached up into the cabinet to get out the oral thermometer when Hideki spoke up.

"I'm going to go get her bag, be right back," he said, turning and making his exit.

The nurse said nothing, but nodded as she made her way toward me.

"Open up," she kindly ordered.

I opened my mouth and lifted up my tongue as she placed the thermometer underneath it. I closed my mouth as she fixed the thermometer into a comfortable spot and pressed a button on the hand-held machine connected to it. After a few seconds, the machine beeped and she took the thermometer out and ejected the sleeve into the trash.

"102.1. That's too high for you to be out and about. How long have you been sick, dear?" She asked.

I shrugged.

"I woke up this morning sneezing and coughing, I didn't know I had a fever though," I explained.

"Hmm, it seems like you have what's been going around—I've had to send three kids home already today from the same symptoms." She frowned as she disinfected her hands again.

"Oh, that sucks," I replied, not really knowing what to say.

"But anyway, I want you to go home and get plenty of rest. Drink lots of liquids and eat lots of soup to help your throat. Take some medicine too, I don't want you coming back to school until your fever subsides." She ordered, looking on the computer screen in front of her.

"What's your name?" she asked gently.

"Takashita Azumi," I answered.

She typed my name in slowly, and then clicked. In a few seconds, she moved the mouse again and clicked on something.

"Are your parents at home right now?" She asked.

Ignoring the pain that seemed to stab at my heart once again, I answered her.

"No, they're both at work," I coughed.

"Hmm, well then what are we to do? You need to be escorted home for you to be released." She said.

"Umm, my cousin that left to go get my bag has an unscheduled fifth and sixth period, and he's of legal age. He's going to take me home." I lied.

"Oh, okay, that's fine," she smiled.

"You just make yourself comfortable while I write you a pass so you can leave when your cousin arrives." She said while she opened her drawer and took out a pen.

"Okay, thank you." I said.

I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to get rid of my sudden headache as I listened to her scribbling down my pass.

I sent Toushirou a text telling him what was happening so that I at least covered my bases. Before I got a reply, Hideki walked back into the room with my bag in hand. He walked over to me and helped me up, then gave me my bag.

"Here you go, Dear," the nurse called, handing me my pass.

"Get well," she smiled at me then Hideki.

"Thank you for taking care of my cousin ma'am," Hideki said sweetly.

I coughed. "Thanks," I smiled quickly and walked out with Hideki.

"Nice one," I said as we walked out of the office.

"What'd you say to my friends?" I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice.

I really didn't want them to think Hideki was my boyfriend because he _most certainly_ was not!

"I told them the truth; you're sick and I'm taking you home." He answered in a casual voice.

"And what'd they say?" I asked.

"Well, two orange-haired girls were worried about you, and one of them said that she'd be at your home as soon as possible."

" _Must've been Rangiku,"_ I thought.

"Okay, that's fine, thanks." I replied.

After explaining the story to the man at the gate, we walked through and started heading toward my house. The walk was pretty silent beside the occasional question or two Hideki would have for me.

I decided not to ask Hideki the questions that I wanted very desperately to ask: why was he so concerned about me? Did he actually care about me, or was he just doing this for kicks? What was his objective in this?

"This is my house," I said before coughing.

Hideki looked at it for a moment, and then smiled.

"It's a beautiful house; I especially find the shrubbery alongside the house aesthetically pleasing." He complimented.

If my Mom was still alive, she'd be grinning and hugging Hideki about now.

"Thanks, my Mom was the mastermind behind the appearance and stuff," I smiled, remembering my Mom trying to make the house look nice a few years back.

"Not at all," he replied politely.

I coughed, and he walked me to the door while I fished out my keys.

"Well, I'd invite you in, but uh, my parents are gonna be home any minute, and I don't want them getting any ideas, you know," I said a little sheepishly.

"What's wrong with that?" He asked, advancing closer toward me.

" _Oh shit!"_ I whimpered in my head.

I unlocked the door, and opened it a crack.

"A lot, trust me." I tried to say firmly—trying to pretend his closeness wasn't bothering me at all.

I coughed again.

"All right, thank you, see you at school," I started to turn, but he grabbed my scarf.

"Please, get well," he said, playing with my scarf for a moment longer.

"Goodbye,"

He turned on his heel and walked away.

"B-Bye," I said before walking inside and shutting the door.

I watched him through the window, making sure he was gone before grabbing a pillow and screaming in it.

"What the Hell?" I shouted with my raspy voice, rubbing my face in my pillow.

"What'd he mean: 'What's wrong with that?' _Everything_ is wrong with that!" I whined into the pillow.

But then again, what really _was_ wrong with that? I mean, I'd always _wanted_ a boyfriend anyway. Why not? What was the big deal? It wasn't like anyone else liked me anyway. Hideki seemed nice enough, so what's wrong with that?

"Maybe, I should just wait things out a little—just in case," I concluded aloud after a few minutes.

"Yeah, waiting is good…sometimes." I nodded.

Plus on second thought, it was probably best I waited until I figured out myself first.

I got up from the couch bed, and walked into the kitchen to get some more water. I looked at the time; Toushirou and Rangiku only had one more period to go and then they'd come home. I decided to take a shower then go to bed; some more sleep would do me good.

I set my glass of water down on the table then went upstairs and got in the shower. About fifteen sluggish minutes later, I got out and blow-dried my hair. I put on my sweats and got out of the bathroom.

Apparently Toushirou and Rangiku ditched sixth period and came home early. I walked downstairs and heard the two in the kitchen. Grabbing my pillow and blanket, I walked into the kitchen.

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku immediately said upon seeing me.

She was sitting at the table and Toushirou was getting out a tea bag from the cupboard.

I cleared my throat.

"Hi," I lightly smiled, getting my glass of water.

"We were so worried about you! Why didn't you call us? We could've taken you home!" Rangiku began, getting up from her chair.

"I texted Toushirou, but Hideki insisted on taking me home, so he sent me to the nurse while he went to get my bag. I'm sorry, I tried though!" I shrugged.

"You guys didn't have to miss your sixth period either; I can take care of myself, don't worry," I smiled.

"Yeah, but I'm getting tired of going to that 'high school' thing all the time. It's annoying and I have better things to do." Rangiku complained.

"Like shopping?" I smirked.

"Exactly!" She winked.

Toushirou didn't say anything, but I bet he was rolling his eyes. I watched him turn on the stove and put the teapot on it.

"Next time, let me know what you plan on doing _before_ you do it. We have to watch over you remember?" He said in that stern, Taichou-voice of his.

"I got it, I got it, I will for sure next time okay?" I promised.

Before he could say anything, I continued.

"At least I sent you a text!" I flashed a grin.

He shook his head at me.

"It's a start, I _guess_ ," he paused. "Next time wait until one of us comes."

"Aye-aye, Sir!" I saluted with a wink; he didn't find it as funny as I did.

"I'm gonna go take a nap now; my throat is freaking killing me." I touched my throat where it ached the most.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Toushirou asked, eyeing the blanket and pillow in my hands.

"Well, so I won't get the two of you sick, I was gonna let you have the couch bed still, and let Rangiku still have my room. I'll sleep in my parents room…for now," I gulped on accident.

" _Way to sound over it. Idiot."_

Toushirou thought for a moment, then turned his gaze to Rangiku.

"Matsumoto, let her have her room back." He ordered.

Before Rangiku protested, he shot her a glance and she backed down immediately.

"Okay, I'll stay on the couch with the Taichou; you go in your room Azumi-chan," she smiled.

"No, no, I can't. I can't make you get out of there; I'll be fine, I promise." I tried to smile reassuringly.

Before Toushirou could protest, Rangiku beat him to it.

"Deal!" She smiled; I laughed and nodded.

"All right, deal then. I'm gonna go now, see you guys later." I waved and walked away.

I walked upstairs and stopped in front of my parent's door. I inhaled and exhaled deeply as I stared at it.

This was tougher than I thought.

I finally squeezed my eyes shut and pushed the door open. Trying not to look at anything, I crawled on top of the bed, unpeeled the covers and settled in the very middle of the bed.

"Just like old times," I said to myself quietly.

I remembered how when I was little—whenever I was scared or wanted to sleep with Mom and Dad—I would always crawl up the bed in the middle of the night, and settle in between them. My Mom would smile and pull the covers up to my chin before going back to sleep. I'd tune out my Dad's snoring and cuddle up next to my Mom, and within minutes I'd be fast asleep. I curled up into a ball, hugged my pillow, and fell asleep with those memories as my last thought.


	12. Chapter 12

Once my cold almost completely subsided, it was back to training at Urahara's. He'd let me slide until I was able to breathe a little bit better since I'm such a newbie. I still had a little bit of a cough, but nothing I couldn't handle. Toushirou and Rangiku made me miss school for another week—which definitely helped—and barely agreed to let me come to Urahara's for "work" today.

As I ran to dodge Yoruichi's barrage of attacks, I started wondering if maybe I should just tell Toushirou and Rangiku. Maybe with everything that's happened between us, they'd let me slide without telling the Soul Society. Then again, Toushirou is a Taichou, so no doubt he would have to report it. That Yamamoto guy was _already_ scary enough, what would he do to me if he found out that I'm technically an enemy?

"Quit daydreaming and focus!" Yoruichi said as she appeared in front of me and tripped me.

I flew forward; my face slamming into the dirt.

She was right.

I just had to focus on training at the moment and try to sort everything out later. I got up, wiped off my face and jogged back to where Yoruichi stood. I put up my fists, waiting for her to attack me.

About another hour passed, and Urahara came down to interrupt.

"Azumi-chan, could you come with me for a moment? Yoruichi, for the time being, training is finished for the day but please come over with us." He turned around and started walking, expecting us to follow.

I thanked Yoruichi with a slight bow, and followed her and Urahara. We walked past a couple of boulders until we reached a really huge pit. I looked down it, trying insanely hard to not think of _Silence of the Lambs_. Urahara wasn't a creep and would never do something that horrific. I chuckled at the thought, and Urahara cleared his throat.

"Azumi-chan, I've brought you here because I would like to perform some tests." He began, I gulped.

"It's been a few weeks since your last feeding, and I want to see just how well you're holding up." He opened his fan, waiting for my response.

"Well, I haven't necessarily had a hankering for anything lately. One would think that maybe I'd start acting weird if I needed to feed." I thought aloud, kicking up a little dirt.

"I see," Urahara said, taking a few steps toward me.

It wasn't until he started walking toward me that I noticed just how loud my breathing was. Yoruichi really took it out of me today—especially since I was still a little sick. Urahara stopped a few inches in front of me and took out a small knife from his sleeve. I took a step back subconsciously.

Suddenly, he slashed his own arm.

I shrieked.

"What an earth are you doing?" I shouted, rushing to his aid.

It hit me.

Staring at the red liquid trickling from his wound was the most enticing thing I had ever experienced.

I felt like I had starved for centuries in a desert; parched, hazy, and hungry. The enchanting smell of that velvet liquid had my mouth watering; I couldn't take my eyes off the wound. My heart pounded loudly in my chest; I could slowly hear my rational thoughts fading in the background while survival instinct started taking over.

Before I could make any moves, I felt someone locking me in place, not letting me make any movements.

Urahara's face bent down to my level, carefully scanning my eyes. My vision started fading in my left eye, the familiar black from before slowing spreading to the center of my vision.

He stepped back, and stood upright again, taking out a roll of bandage and a towel. He wiped off his blood with the towel, and wrapped his self-inflicted wound quickly. With him doing that, I could hear the rational thoughts starting to drown out my instinct, only to be interrupted.

"Please don't be mad, Azumi-chan, this is all part of the test,"

Swiftly, Urahara stabbed the side of my abdomen.

It was strange; at first, it was like nothing happened—I didn't feel a thing. Then, upon looking at the small knife in my torso, the pain shot through me like an electric shock.

I screamed.

I could feel my own blood oozing out of me, and the foreign unmoving metal stuck inside of me. The black in my left eye fully took control of my entire eye and quickly crept into my right. Instinct completely took over, and the last thing I remember seeing was Urahara with his Zanpakuto.

-[×]-

My eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar wooden ceiling. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes.

" _Where am I?"_ I questioned in my head.

I laid my palms flat in an effort to prop myself up, and upon sitting up, winced in pain. I looked at the source of the shooting pain and suddenly remembered everything.

"Holy—Urahara!" I screeched, panicked.

Why the Hell did he stab me? What happened after that? Am I still at Urahara's place? What time is it? How did I survive that?

On cue, there was a light knock on the door and after another moment it opened, revealing Urahara himself.

"Ohayo, Azumi-chan!" He said, smiling that famous nonchalant smile of his.

I scooted back.

"Why the Hell did you stab me?" I shouted, now panting from the sudden adrenaline.

"Sorry, sorry! But you must calm down, Azumi-chan. I only stabbed you as a test. You would have survived either way." He walked toward me and sat next to me.

"So, let me tell you the outcome of my tests," He began, I gulped in response.

"Upon the sight or smell of blood, your Hollowfication begins. First, your eyes turn red, and your canine teeth protrude and sharpen. Second, the whites of your eyes begin to turn black, then proceed into your pupils although your irises retain their red color. Before I continue, do you remember anything after I stabbed you?"

I shook my head.

"The last thing I remember was you drawing your Zanpakuto,"

I knew that much about the takeover already, but it was still nice to hear it analyzed. I was scared about what he was about to tell me next.

"I see," He smirked and continued, "after I drew my Benihime, you attacked me."

Okay, wait a minute… _I what? Me,_ attack Urahara? How could I—

"You started spitting out white liquid, and it turned in a mask that covered your face completely. Then the right-side of your body developed from the liquid as well. That liquid in it's hardened form is called 'Hierro,' and it's essentially the armor that encase Arrancar. Once that developed on your right side, I signaled Yoruichi to let you go and you immediately lunged for me."

I could imagine my face was pretty pale right now from his words. My jaw hung a little loosely just at the thought of myself turning into a Hollow like that.

"I'm sorry, Urahara; did I hurt you?" I suddenly felt terrible.

Even though he stabbed me, something in my gut told me that I probably did something worse. At the very least, I didn't kill him—that in itself made me feel ten times better about the situation.

"Of course not, Azumi-chan! Although you did have very impressive speed and almost caught me a few times," He smirked.

"Going on, I let you lunge for me for a little bit, just to see if you would regain control of yourself or continue to transform. Seeing how you didn't do either, I figured that I should just continue the test. I called Tessai for the Hollow we caught earlier in the day. We caught the Hollow to see if you could feed off it, which turned out successful. We released the Hollow in the pit, and pushed you in after it. After you fed off the Hollow, you fell to the ground and slowly started reverting back into your human form. At that point, Tessai got you out of the pit and used some healing kido on you for the stab wound. It hasn't completely healed, and I'm sure that it still hurts, but it is nowhere near life-threatening."

I looked down at myself and realized I was in a black kimono. I lifted the fabric and saw bandages wrapped around my torso. I'd have to see just how bad the stab wound is when I got home tonight.

Oh no.

Home.

Toushirou and Rangiku.

How am I supposed to explain this?

"So, what is your final take on what happened?" I asked the hatted blonde, pushing aside my thoughts for the moment.

"I'd like to do one more test tomorrow, but for now, I can definitely make this conclusion: you're triggered by bloodlust, exhaustion, and what you deem to be critical situations. When I stabbed you, you lost control almost immediately. The longer you haven't fed, the more likely you are to lose control. Once you lose control, the only way to stop you is to either kill you, or let you feed. And luckily, you can feed off Hollows rather than living human souls. I do want to test your control upon seeing blood tomorrow since you've just fed. And after that, I want to see just how long you can withstand not feeding. All and all, the tests did prove to be fruitful, although there were some minor injuries," He stared at my abdomen.

"Sorry again, I do hope you understand."

"No, no, it's definitely fine. I was just a little confused at first, but now it all makes sense. Thank you for putting up with me and helping me through all of this…as you know, keeping this a secret has been really hard—especially living with Rangiku and Toushirou. But now knowing this makes me even more worried. What if this happens in my sleep, or at random? I don't know what I would do if I actually hurt someone…" I trailed off.

I was honestly beyond shocked and didn't really know how to feel about the whole situation.

"Of course, Azumi-chan, not a problem at all. It's actually very intriguing to me to figure you out." He smiled, waving his fan.

"Once we go through a few more tests, we'll work on getting you to control yourself. One thing I would recommend, however, is to talk to Kurosaki Ichigo."

Well the last part certainly baffled me.

What would talking to him help?

"Kurosaki is a Shinigami-Daiko as you know, but he also is part Hollow—much like yourself."

"Say what?" I shouted.

"Yes, you heard correctly; he also has a Hollow-side to him. He's learned how to somewhat control it; maybe you should go to him for a few pointers." Urahara smiled.

He was right. I definitely should and I will starting tomorrow. Thinking about tomorrow and school, my previous worried thoughts came back at me full force. What time was it?

"I definitely am going to talk to him about it, thank you for the suggestion! But on another note, how long was I out and what time is it? Toushirou and Rangiku are probably worried sick, and where are my clothes?" I asked.

"Yoruichi changed you into the kimono because the blood from your wound stained your clothes. Tessai already washed them for you, they're out on the clothes line drying. It's about midnight. Hitsugaya-Taichou came at around 9 p.m. looking for you, and I told him that I needed your help early in the morning and that you weren't feeling well and went to sleep. He didn't seem too convinced, but I convinced him that you really wanted to lie down to recuperate from today's work. He said he'd come pick you up around noon tomorrow. He seemed a little angry, just a fair warning." He explained.

I exhaled loudly.

"That works for me; thanks for covering me." I did my best to flash a grin.

Urahara stood up and closed his fan.

"No problem at all! Tomorrow morning we'll do one last test along with some light training because of your wound, then you can go home with Hitsugaya-Taichou and recuperate a little bit. I'll have Tessai re-wrap your wound after your training tomorrow as well. Goodnight, Azumi-chan!" He smiled, and with that headed toward the door.

"Goodnight, and thanks again." I said, and with that he turned off the light and left the room.

I laid there, staring at the ceiling. Hopefully Ichigo could help shed a little more light on the situation. As hard as it was, I tried to not think about it.

Toushirou was probably livid at me. Lately it's just been one thing after the other that I've done.

-[×]-

By the time I blinked, it was already morning. Tessai made some breakfast and gave me my clothes back. He had mended the hole in my shirt with a couple of quick stitches and you almost couldn't tell there was a hole to begin with.

After breakfast I helped Jinta and Ururu organize the items in front of the shop, then proceeded down to the basement with Urahara and Yoruichi.

Urahara cut himself again.

I felt absolutely terrible, but it was for the best. I was afraid to even look when he did it. I cringed and shut my eyes tightly, afraid the same thing that happened yesterday would happen again. But, I could definitely smell that oh-so-savory liquid coming out of him though. It made me cringe and want to lick my lips. I looked up at the blood; watched as it trickled down to his elbow and dripped to the earth below. I felt myself getting angry—angry that it was going to waste. I internally smacked myself at how stupid and animalistic that sounded, and my anger about the waste of it turned into anger at myself.

Urahara stepped closer and studied my face; I looked directly at him, waiting for his judgement.

"Well, your eyes are now tinged with a bit of orange, but they aren't red like yesterday. Now, let's see pretty little Azumi-chan's smile."

I flashed my teeth not in a smile, but like one would do at the dentist. He chuckled in response.

"No fangs yet, that's a good sign." He smiled.

He took out a towel again and wiped the blood off as well as bandaging it.

"So after you've fed, you're able to control yourself. That's great news! Next we'll find out how long you can go without feeding. Be sure to let me know if you're feeling odd at any point within these next few weeks." He took out his fan and covered the lower half of his face.

"Yoruichi, she's all yours!" He bowed, and I thanked him again.

Without missing a beat, Yoruichi turned toward me.

"Today, since we're only doing light training, we're going to do some laps, and some muscle exercises. Let's start with 10 laps." She ordered.

Sighing, I obeyed and took off running.

Luckily, Urahara let me shower and clean up before noon came around. I felt gross from all the sweat, and really felt like I needed to change my bandage. At about 11:55, I went outside to wait for Toushirou. He showed up at noon on the dot.

"Hola!" I waved, flashing a grin.

He studied me for a moment and I cringed as response.

"Uh, something the matter?" I asked.

He put his hands in his pockets, turned on his heel, and began walking; I followed suit.

"What happened to you, Takashita?" He asked.

I tried so hard not to gulp.

"Wow, Toushirou, not even a hello? Talk about rude," I chuckled lightly, trying to ease the situation.

"Rude is when you agree to do something and then you don't do it." he retorted.

"Why didn't you call?" He asked.

I exhaled loudly.

"Sorry, last night I wasn't feeling well and laid down for just a second. Next thing I knew it was morning and I had to help set up the shop. There was a huuuuuge buy-one-get-one free sale going on and I had to bring out all the extra stock from the back. If I hadn't fallen asleep, I definitely would've come home. I'm sorry again for worrying you." I squeaked out.

Truth be told, I was kind of scared. I've been telling him again and again that I would listen to him and follow orders, yet I still haven't done that. He must be furious; I'm sure that with being a Taichou, he isn't used to someone deliberately disobeying his orders. On top of that, I'm sure that if someone did disobey, Toushirou would give some serious consequence.

After silence for a few moments, he finally responded.

"Just remember to call next time. Remember, it's my job to know where you are, and make sure you're safe."

He sounded like he was completely unconvinced. I could just tell that he wanted to say more, but if he wasn't going to argue about it, then I was good with that.

"Absolutely," I replied.

We walked a couple of blocks in complete silence and I eventually tried to act normal.

"So, how was last night without me? You guys throw a wild party?" I lightly chuckled.

"Of course not. We patrolled for a bit, reported to the Soul Society, and slept—the usual." He said.

He sounded like his mind was somewhere else. Like he was focused, but at the same time not focused. It was weird getting a vibe like that from Toushirou—he normally had everything together.

"Aw, that's no fun! You guys should take a night off once in a while! Go have some fun or something! You guys, or should I say _you in particularly_ , are always so tense! We should all go get a bite to eat or something sometime! It would be good to—"

"We're here in the World of the Living because we have a job to do; we aren't here to have fun." He coldly interrupted.

Well then.

I resisted the urge to push him into the oncoming light pole.

"If you say so," I responded.

I wasn't in the mood to argue; I decided to just let it go. We walked a few more blocks, and were getting close to the house.

I should probably have waited until the dust settled more, but my ignorant 'do-before-thinking' mentality took over and I went ahead and prompted Toushirou.

"So listen, I was thinking about hanging out with Kurosaki when he gets out of school today. I haven't seen him in a while and wanted to see how everyone's doing." I waited for his response.

"I'd rather you stay home today. You're still feeling _sick,_ remember?" He looked at me with those piercing teal eyes of his, sarcasm heavy in his tone.

I stopped walking, starting to get angry even though I had no right to be.

"What's wrong, Toushirou?"

As soon as I asked it, I regretted it. This completely opened the door for him to call me out on my bullshit. I tensed up, praying that I'd make it out of this one.

"What is it that you're hiding from me, Takashita?"

Yep.

There it was.

Now I was in for it.

"You aren't the best liar, and you're easily readable. Tell me what's going on."

I looked down at the sidewalk below, trying to think out the situation. Four excruciating seconds had passed and I knew I was out of time. I blurted out the first thing that came mind.

"All right, I'll tell you. I've been training with Urahara and Yoruichi. I do help them from time to time with the store, but for the most part, I've been there trying to better myself." I paused, looking into those judgmental eyes briefly before continuing.

"Last night, there was a little accident, and I…well,"

I lifted up the bottom of my shirt just a little to reveal the bandage underneath. I noticed his hands clenched into fists and he immediately interrupted.

"I—"

"What the Hell did he do to you?" He interrupted angrily, staring intensely at the wound.

"Well if you'd let me finish!" I interrupted back.

"It was completely an accident. I told him to come at me with his sword because I thought I was good at dodging, and I accidentally got stabbed and blacked out. All right?" I actually sounded pretty convincing. He huffed in response.

"I don't want—"

"Look, I'm fine. They completely took care of me, and healed me as much as possible. Getting stabbed was my own fault for being cocky; if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me, _not them_." I cut him off again.

Toushirou grabbed the niche of his nose, eyes closed in what looked like frustration.

"Why didn't you tell me that you've been training until now?" He asked with an exhale.

"Because I thought that you'd be against it because I'm so clumsy and uncoordinated. But the way I see it, if Aizen is after me, I need to actually be able to do something about it _myself_ rather than rely on others to protect and avenge me. You think I want _you_ to kill Ulquiorra and Aizen? Hell no I don't, because I want to do it." I took a breath, looking up at him.

I realized my eyes were starting to water when Toushirou's form started blurring; I looked away, embarrassed.

"It's their fault my parents are dead. If anyone is going to get revenge, it's going to be me." I concluded.

He stepped directly in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I took a deep breath to suck back the tears and looked up at him. His expression wasn't an angry one anymore, it was concerned.

"I understand your frustration, but your well-being comes before all else. I don't agree with Urahara's methods, but I'm not against you at least learning how to defend yourself."

He took his hand back and shoved it into his pocket.

"I'd prefer if you learned from Matsumoto and I, but it is your choice who you want to learn from."

"Another thing Toushirou; I feel absolutely terrible. I'm sorry that I keep messing up your orders. I sincerely don't try on purpose to disobey you; things just happen so quickly and my feeble mind forgets to do the right thing. I get so caught up in whatever situation and then I just act instinctively rather than using thought-process. I truly am sorry for my behavior. You can treat me like you would one of your subordinates if you'd like—I can take it." I cracked a small smile.

He didn't look at me, but his aura felt like if he did he'd roll his eyes at me.

"That won't be necessary. Thanks for the apology; I appreciate you telling me the truth at the very least. Rangiku and I have been worried about you lately." He replied.

I smiled and nodded in response.

"But I will make this clear," the tone of his voice turned serious.

"I don't want you anywhere near Aizen or Ulquiorra again." Before I could interject he continued.

"Even the Taichou-ranking members of the Gotei 13 are proceeding with extreme caution; Aizen and his Espada are powerful. For fear of your life, I don't want you in any battle. I do realize that there will be times where I can't shield you from danger; so learning to defend yourself until I get there is definitely a good idea." He explained.

"As far as following my orders goes, I realize that you aren't a Shinigami or a member of my squad. I can understand why you don't take my orders seriously. However, just because I can understand your side, doesn't mean my orders aren't important. You've seen what Aizen can do first hand; none of us want anything to happen to you. Please, try to keep that in mind." He said.

I decided to not argue with anything for now. I didn't want him to protect me, but as I was at the moment, there really was no choice. I nodded in agreement.

"However, I am interested in these training sessions Urahara is putting you through. I'll be checking in every now and then." He started walking again.

I sighed.

Great.

"Thank you for understanding," I said softly as I hurried to his side; he slightly nodded.

Well, technically I did tell the truth for the most part, I just left out the super important details. Even so, the parts I left out still left me feeling guilty. I looked away and sighed again. At least I was off the hook for now—he seemed convinced enough.

"I'll have Matsumoto perform some healing kido on you, and if that doesn't heal you completely, then we'll call Inoue Orihime." He stated.

"Sounds good to me! If anything I'll stop by her house on my way to Kurosaki's," I tried to sneak in permission to go later.

"I'll escort you there." He countered.

Well damn.

How was I supposed to talk to Kurosaki now with Mr. Overprotective coming along?

"Pish-posh, I'll be fine, Toushirou! You don't need to escort me, I'm a big kid now, and I've learned how to defend myself at least a little bit. I mean, look at these guns!" I grinned flexing the non-existent muscle in my right arm.

Toushirou looked and shook his head in disapproval, my joke clearly failed to make an impact.

"But," I continued. "If you feel better escorting me and you think it's the right thing to do—then okay. I'll bargain." I smiled and nudged him.

He nudged me back. "Thanks,"

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," I smiled, even though I was internally panicking.

We arrived at the house finally. Toushirou took out his key from his pocket, unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door for me. As soon as we got inside, Rangiku immediately came running down the stairs—worry written across her face.

"Azumi-chan! What in the world happened? Are you okay? Why—"

Toushirou immediately cut her off and filled her in on the situation while I grinned sheepishly. As soon as he got to the stab part, she interrupted.

"You've been _what_?" she shouted, full of concern.

"Yes, it's no big—"

Rangiku did the unthinkable.

Before I could even finish my sentence, she grabbed my shirt and pulled it off me.

Right. In front of. Toushirou.

"Rangiku! What the Hell are you doing?" I shouted.

I was definitely cherry red. She pushed me on the bed as I tried to cover myself, and started trying to rip off the bandages. I looked at Toushirou, whose face was also completely red and eyes almost bulging at the sight.

"Turn around right now, damn you!" I sneered at him.

He snapped back into reality and immediately turned around. Rangiku was laughing as she continued unraveling my bandages.

"Oh come now, Azumi-chan! It was about time you quenched Taichou's curiosity. Ne, Taichou?" she giggled.

"What curiosity?" we both yelled at her in unison.

"Damn it, Rangiku; it hurts to shout!" I whimpered.

She laughed loudly as she continued unwrapping me.

"At least you have a good bra on, Azumi-chan! So this is what a size-B looks like—lace and stripes suit you!" She giggled; she was loving every second of this.

"Damn you, Ran—"

"Cover her chest with something so I can go over and see her wound, Matsumoto. That's an order." Toushirou huffed.

"Aww! You're no fun at all, Taichou!" She pouted.

Well, check off one of the most embarrassing experiences ever off my list of things to do.


	13. Chapter 13

After the horrific scene happened in my living room, I made some lunch for everyone and waited around until school was out so I could pay Kurosaki a visit.

Toushirou decided that we did need to take a quick stop at Orihime's house after all since the kido Rangiku used didn't fully heal me as anticipated. I moreover was trying to figure out exactly what to even tell Kurosaki since Toushirou would be right there.

I went upstairs to change, and then decided that maybe slipping him a note wouldn't be such a bad idea. On the surface, I could just idly prattle about school and the others like I'd said to Toushirou originally. Then maybe around lunch time at school tomorrow, I could pull him to the side to maybe quickly set up a time where we could actually talk about it.

Sounded like it could work. The only thing that concerned me about telling Kurosaki was the Bounto-side of things. He would for sure be okay with the Hollow-side, but what if he wasn't okay with the other? Surely the guy wasn't that heartless that he'd freak out about it—right?

I scribbled a note for him with just the basics,

' _I need to talk to you about something important and I need to keep it a secret._

_Please don't tell anyone about this note, and we'll try to set up a time that's convenient for you._

_Text me later._

_Thanks!_

_-Azumi'_

I folded the note and shoved it in my sweater pocket, and right at that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I answered.

Toushirou walked in the room.

"Hey, let's just meet them at the school; I don't feel like going over to Kurosaki's house. I have to check in with the others stationed here anyway. We'll walk with them up to Inoue's house and then leave after that." He made it come out as a statement, but I had a feeling that it was a statement that needed an answer.

"Sure, that's fine. I suppose I could see everyone that way anyhow." I smiled.

This actually worked out better. While distracted by the others, I could easily talk to Kurosaki.

"Also," He paused and I looked up at him.

"Matsumoto's been wanting to go experience a restaurant in the World of the Living. If you don't have training this evening, we could go before Matsumoto and I have to go patrolling." He put his hands in his pockets, staring out the window.

Did he…feel bad about earlier?

I was the one who's been in the wrong this whole time, and I should be the one who should be really sorry—but him? Maybe he's sorry about being angry? But why would he?

I don't know why, but I blushed.

It was nice seeing a somewhat caring side of Toushirou, and an uncomfortably cute side as well. I chuckled and he turned to look at me. I grinned at him and walked over, patting his shoulder.

"That sounds amazing! I know a great place too!"

I was actually pretty excited. It had been months since I went out to eat, and it sounded like it would be a great time. Plus, I've been needing some Italian food in my life for a while now.

"All right, I'll let Matsumoto know. I'm sure she'd like to tag along to the school as well. Are you ready to go?" He asked, walking toward the bedroom door.

"Yup!" I followed him out the door.

The three of us walked over to the school and arrived right as the bell rang. We waited at the gate for all of the others to gather and come out. I waited off to the side while Rangiku was going on about something to Toushirou that I wasn't paying attention to. I was busy staring up at the clouds, lost in my own thoughts.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me into their chest; I gasped in response.

"It's so nice to finally see my Kawaii-chan! How are you feeling?" Hideki Katsu said, dangerously close to my face.

I pushed him back in response, still in his grasp however.

"What the Hell are you _doing,_ Hideki?" I spat at him, finally breaking his hold and dusting myself off.

Suddenly it felt like it was 10 degrees colder.

Hideki laughed in response.

"Just enjoying my little Kawaii-chan! How are you feeling? Are you better from your cold? You still seem a little warm." He smiled that devilishly seductive crooked smile of his as he took a few steps closer; I blushed.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking." I huffed, taking another step back.

I tried to look up at him, and when he looked me dead in the eye I blushed again and looked away. God this was irritating. Why the Hell did he have to be cute?

At that point, Rangiku chimed in and looped her arm through mine.

"Hi there! You're Azumi-chan's friend from last week who got her bag and escorted her home! Thanks again! I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, nice to meet you!" She smiled, holding a hand out to him—she almost sounded like an overprotective mother.

"The pleasure is all mine; I'm Hideki Katsu, nice to meet you!" Hideki smiled coolly and shook Rangiku's hand gently.

"And who is your friend over here?" He asked politely, facing Toushirou's direction.

I looked over at Toushirou and noticed then and there that he looked a little on edge. He walked over smoothly and outstretched his hand toward Hideki.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," He said as Hideki shook his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you," Hideki smiled.

I don't know why, but I had a feeling they didn't like each other right at that moment.

Hideki turned back to me and smiled again.

"Well I'm glad that you're all better! I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, definitely," I replied rather dryly.

On that note, he put a hand on my shoulder and bent down to my ear.

"Looking forward to it, Kawaii-chan," He whispered.

Then he turned around and started walking away.

Right at that moment, Kurosaki and the others arrived. I actually was pretty grateful they showed up right then; that was such an awkward situation for me that I really didn't know how to react afterward.

Rangiku gave me a few pats before letting me go and joining the others. I looked at Toushirou—he was staring off in the direction Hideki walked in. He felt my gaze and looked right at me, and I froze in response. Why did this feel so weird?

Orihime, Rukia and Tatsuki came up at that moment, and started a conversation with me. I smiled, suppressing down my leftover feelings of awkwardness, and started walking alongside them as the rest of the group joined us.

I noticed that Renji kept staring at me in particularly; I wondered what his problem was. After walking a couple blocks, I saw an opportunity where Toushirou and Rangiku were distracted, so I bid the girls farewell and sneaked over to Kurosaki.

"Hey, Kurosaki! How's it goin?" I grinned, coming up along side him.

He gave me a weird look and responded.

"Hey, Takashita, it's goin fine. What about you? I've heard you've been pretty sick; are you feel—"

At that moment, I shoved the note into his jacket pocket and told him not to make a big deal with my stare—he didn't get the memo.

"What did you—"

"Let's talk about it later, Kurosaki. Don't make a big deal out of it; you'll find out soon enough." I whispered a bit loudly as I checked over my shoulder.

Hopefully I was sneaky enough and no one saw that.

"Oh yeah, I'm feeling a lot better now!" I said in a normal volume; it seemed like he understood.

"Good, I'm glad you're all better now. Coming to school tomorrow?" He asked, a little strained.

"Yup I'll be here! Anything fun I missed?" I asked, playing into the idle prattle game.

We kept on walking and eventually everyone dispersed into their separate ways. We filled Orihime in on what happened to me, and she immediately got to work when we got to her house. Luckily, she ended up healing the wound completely. Orihime was _too awesome_ with those healing powers of hers!

"Thanks again, Orihime! I really appreciate it!" I smiled and hugged her at the door.

"Not a problem at all! Be careful in your training, Azumi-chan! See you tomorrow!" She smiled and locked the door behind us.

By the time the 3 of us left Orihime's, it was already coming up on 5 p.m. I was getting hungry, and I knew they had to patrol soon.

"You guys ready to go out to eat? I'm starvin'!" I exclaimed, smiling.

"Same here! Where did you say we were going again? To get Ita-what food?" Rangiku asked.

" _Italian_ food," I corrected.

"I figure you guys are only used to Japanese food, so maybe you guys would like to try something new! My parents and I used to go to this place all the time! It's called Valentina's Italian Cuisine; its really good, and not that far either." I smiled.

Rangiku seemed to be pretty excited, but Toushirou didn't say a word.

I led them a couple streets down toward the shopping district Rangiku and I went to a while back. Rangiku tried to stop at almost every store we passed, saying she _needed_ whatever item was in the window. I looped my arm through hers and made her keep walking each time. Finally, we arrived at the Italian restaurant.

"Table for 3, please!" I smiled at the hostess.

She led us to our table as Rangiku took in all the foreign decorations on the walls. She seemed really intrigued—it was actually adorable. She asked a lot of questions when we got to the table and rambled on and on about how she now wanted to go to Italy the next time she was in the World of the Living. Toushirou only really asked about the menu, and what some of the items were, like pasta for instance.

"Pasta is technically noodles with sauce, but definitely not the type of noodles you're probably used to. Spaghetti or Fettuccine Alfredo are both really good pastas. I'm going to actually get the cheese ravioli with meat sauce though, it's my favorite!" I explained; he just nodded in response.

"What should we get, Azumi-chan?" Rangiku asked.

"On second thought, do you guys want me to order the popular items and we can all share? That way you guys can try a little bit of everything?" I asked.

Rangiku smiled, eyes bright. "That sounds great! I'm excited!" She squealed.

"You okay with that, Toushirou?" I asked the way-too-quiet Taichou.

"Sure, that's fine." He replied.

He continued trying to read the foreign language on the menu, not making eye contact.

What was he all glum about? I let it go. If he didn't wanna tell me, then it was none of my business…I guess anyway.

The waitress came to take our order, and I ordered some Chicken Parmisiana, Cheese Raviolis, and some plain ol' Spaghetti since they had never had any. Some side salads came with the entrees and I ordered some breadsticks and soda as well.

Although a certain someone was being really quiet, it was still a good time. Rangiku really enjoyed herself and Toushirou seemed interested on the culture Italians had. I hadn't actually felt this well in months. It was a nice reminder that now I had friends to share things with, and people who cared about me. Although I'm stressed out and slightly going insane, I could get used to having them around.

As we finished our food, the waitress came back and brought the check. I pulled out my Mom's debit card and paid for the meal. As Rangiku asked me about the minty chocolates left with the receipt, my phone vibrated loudly in my pocket.

I furrowed my brows and took out the cellular device. It was a text from Kurosaki—I'd almost forgotten!

' _Kurosaki: Takashita, when did you want to talk?'_

I immediately responded.

' _Me: Can you meet me after school at Urahara's place? It's safe to talk there. Thanks for not making a big deal about the note earlier too.'_

Rangiku tried to peek at my phone since I ignored her question. I quickly put it away.

"Who're you talking to, Azumi-chan?" She smirked. "Is it your boooooyfriend?" She winked and giggled.

I stared dumbfounded at her. "What? Who're you talking about?"

I felt some type of tension at the table suddenly, but I wasn't sure why.

"I'm talking about Hideki-kun," She started as we all stood up and made our way out.

"Who is that boy anyway?" She asked.

As soon as I was about to answer, all 3 of our phones went off. Mine for a text message, and theirs for Hollows; we all grabbed our phones in unison.

"Matsumoto, take Takashita home." Toushirou ordered, popping a gikon pill in his mouth and separating from his gigai—the gigai walked up to us and patiently waited behind us.

"Hai, Taichou!" Matsumoto responded.

With that, Toushirou flash-stepped away.

I took out my phone to see Kurosaki's reply—he was going to meet me tomorrow. That was good news.

Rangiku huffed suddenly. I stared at her, trying to make out the seemingly worn down expression. We started walking.

"What's the matter, Rangiku?" I asked.

"Taichou's upset." She answered, nudging me forward toward home.

Upset? Why?

"Well, he was being really quiet at dinner; I had a feeling something was up…what do you think he's mad about?" I asked.

Was it something I said?

Rangiku looked at me with a ' _really?'_ look on her face. She smiled and let out a light chuckle.

"Oh Azumi-chan, I remember when I was that young," She smiled.

I didn't get it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, a little flustered.

"Tell me about Hideki-kun. What is the situation with him?" She asked.

Suddenly it hit me like a baseball bat to the back of the cranium.

"Oh God…you mean?" I said more loudly than I should've.

She nodded, smirking.

"Oh no, no, no! _Hell_ no as a matter of fact! There is nothing going on between Hideki and I what-so-ever. I mean, he's cute, but he's kinda irritating—I don't know."

Both Rangiku, and Toushirou's gigai laughed at how quick my come-back was. Yep, queue the blushing.

"Why? You seriously think that Toushirou…is…" I couldn't even finish the sentence.

Rangiku just laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Rangiku!"

For the rest of the trip home she wouldn't answer any of my questions about Toushirou. She would only change the subject. It was annoying, but I guess she really didn't want to talk about it or get involved. When we got home, Toushirou called Rangiku and told her that he's going to be out patrolling in her place and to stay home with me.

Was he seriously that upset? Maybe I'd talk it out with him when he got home—if he felt like not giving the cold shoulder, that is.

A few hours passed by, and it was time to go to sleep; still no sign of Toushirou. Rangiku said she could still feel his reiatsu, and that he was probably fine. She went upstairs for bed and I situated myself on the couch mattress like usual.

If I was completely honest with myself, it was kind of lonely without him sleeping at my side.

Last night at Urahara's, the past week I've been sick and slept in the other room, and now tonight just felt uncomfortable. It was strange, but I guess I relied on Toushirou more than I thought I did.

Ever since my parents passed and I started trying to come back to the real world rather than my own personal dark abyss, the presence of my friends has been mainly the only thing keeping me going. And when I lay down to sleep, Toushirou's the one that helps set my mind at ease so that I actually _can_ drift off to sleep rather than stay up crying. Just by him physically laying next to me, sleeping; he didn't even have to say anything. Strange how one subconsciously does things.

I ended up getting lost in my thoughts after all. I thought about after school tomorrow at Urahara's and what the outcome would be, what the Soul Society is like and if when I die, if I would actually go there since I'm such an oddity. I wondered if I in fact was alive, or already dead.

Hollows are souls of former humans that haven't passed on and become evil spirits, while Bounto are immortal humans. So would I even get to go to the Soul Society? Does that mean that I will never be able to find my parents in another life?

It was at that point I started crying.

My pent up frustrations about everything that's happened for the past few months came out like a broken dam. Before I knew it, it was already 2 in the morning, and I was so tired but just couldn't calm down.

At about 2:15, I heard the deadbolt unlock. I closed my eyes, and tried to calm my breathing. I was sure it was Toushirou, and he was already mad or whatever at me I assumed; I didn't want him to see me like this.

He walked in and lightly closed the door and locked it. His gigai had fallen asleep in the chair in the kitchen hours ago, trying to wait for Toushirou's return. Toushirou walked over to it and popped out the mod soul to take its place in the gigai. The mod soul had already gotten changed into more comfortable clothing, so he started walking up to our shared bed.

I tried so hard to not make a sound that I held my breath. I heard Toushirou pause before walking to his side of the bed. It felt like he was looking at me, but I dared not try to take a peak. He walked over to his side of the bed and sat down.

His phone beeped a couple times, but he put his finger over to speaker to try and drown out the sound. He plugged it into the charger on the wall and pulled the covers over himself as he laid down. I couldn't hold it in anymore; I let out a long exhale as quietly as I could.

I felt his head rise from his pillow. He didn't say anything, but he definitely was tuned into me. I sharply inhaled quick, short breaths and unfortunately let out some more tears—I was failing miserably.

"What's wrong, Takashita?" He asked.

The jig was up—I started sobbing.

I literally couldn't help it anymore.

He sat up and set a hand on my shoulder, which I plucked off almost instantly.

"Stop trying to comfort me; I don't deserve it. You're upset for some reason on top of that, so you shouldn't have to comfort me. You can just go to sleep, Toushirou, I'm sorry for keeping you up." I choked out.

"And why would you think I'm upset?" He asked.

I didn't turn around and I didn't reply. He adjusted himself on the bed, situating himself more comfortably.

"Takashita," he repeated, prompting me to answer.

"Can you just reassure me of something?" I asked, taking a deep breath and wiping my face.

He didn't say anything, just waited for me to continue.

"Can you please promise me again that you'll try to find my parents when you go back to the Soul Society?"

"I promise, Takashita," he replied.

At his response, I held up my hand with my pinky finger extended, still not facing him. He didn't do anything.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"It's a pinky swear. You shake hands but with your pinky finger; it's supposed to mean more than a regular handshake. It means that the promise or agreement can never be broken." I explained.

He sighed lightly and grabbed my pinky with his.

"You humans are odd creatures," He shook on it.

"Thank you, Toushirou, you have no idea how much that means to me." I said with a shaky voice.

"Don't worry about it," He took his pinky back.

"I'm not upset, Takashita. There's just a lot on my mind, and a few things I can't figure out. Sorry if it seemed like I was angry at you."

At this point, I wiped my face and turned to look at him. Thank God it was dark so he couldn't see all my smeared makeup; he stared into my still watery eyes regardless

"But I do have to ask you something, Takashita." He paused.

"I need you to tell me about Hideki Katsu."

I sat up.

Oh my God...Rangiku was right.

I blushed and looked away. Before I could get lost in my thoughts, he proceeded with more questions.

"Has he been going to the school for long? Do you know anything about his family or friends? Any information at all?"

I composed myself and answered.

"He just transferred in a few weeks ago and sits next to me in my fourth period class."

"And what are your feelings toward him?"

Awkward.

"He's all right I suppose; kind of annoying with how he lacks understanding of personal space. I kind of owe him though, so I let it slide to a certain extent,"

"What do you owe him?" He asked rather shortly.

"I was getting jumped by two girls from school and he stopped them before they could hurt me." I explained.

Toushirou looked surprised and then slightly angry; before he could interrupt, I continued.

"I had it under control; I was about to put my training to good use, but he happened to intervene before I could do anything."

"Why didn't you tell me this happened? When did it even take place? Which girls did that and why?" He questioned irritably.

"It happened the last day I went to school; I went down to get a water from the vending machine because I was still really sick, and they cornered me. Remember when I randomly woke up in an alley? Remember how my clothes were when I came home? They saw me in that attire and basically called me a slut and made fun of me for it. And when I snapped back to tell them off, they got angry and pinned me." I explained.

"Honestly, it's no big deal. That's what bullies do—although I'm more used to verbal bullying rather than physical." I chuckled.

Now that I thought about it, I guess I did forget to tell Toushirou and Rangiku about that. Just like that Arrancar that also attacked me. Although that one I kind of didn't want to say anything about, for fear of Toushirou, Rangiku and the others. Even though I probably should.

"Why is that funny to you?" Toushirou asked.

"What?"

"You laugh like it isn't an issue—like verbal or physical abuse is okay when it isn't. You shouldn't let anyone do that to you." He pressed.

He was staring at me now, and I shifted under how strong his gaze was and looked away.

"It's been happening as long as I can remember, I just ignore it. Sure it bothers me, but people are going to say what they want and that's that. There is literally nothing I can do about it since I'm a weakling. But honestly, high school's almost over for me, which would hopefully mean a whole new beginning. Well, if I don't die before then that is." I chuckled again.

I could really feel my pessimism leaking out. I felt bad, but it was the truth.

"I disagree with you; I don't think you should just ignore it, but it looks like you don't want to be persuaded right now. Back to Hideki Katsu—you owe him nothing. Just because he helped you back then means nothing. If he's making you uncomfortable, then you need to tell him to keep his distance."

"If it gets really bad then yes I agree, but at the moment it isn't so bad. Once he crosses the line then yes, I'll tell him." I responded.

Toushirou made a sharp, short, angry huff.

"Is there anything else in particularly strange that you notice about him?" He decided not to retaliate against my reply.

"Nothing that I've noticed. Why are you asking all these questions about him? I can already tell that you don't like him, but why? What's the big deal about his relationship with me and him in general?" I asked.

I wanted to hear it straight from him; I didn't want to just assume he was jealous of him.

"I sense a strange reiatsu coming from him. There's something not right about the guy—I'm just surprised that none of the others seem to sense it." He concluded.

"…And there's nothing else other than that? That's the only reason that you don't like him? Because he has strange reiatsu?" I pressured.

He was silent for a moment—like he was thinking about how to properly respond. Another few seconds passed by, and I cleared my throat as a signal that I still wanted an answer. He looked at me for what seemed to be a long moment, then looked away in a sigh.

"I don't like the way he is around you—it's irritating." He finally answered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He acts like you're some item he owns; like he could do whatever he wanted to you even though he just met you. It's disrespectful." Toushirou said, carefully changing his tone so that his voice wouldn't be raised above the sound level we were talking in.

I didn't really know what to say. What was going on here? Did Toushirou actually care that much about me, or was it because of his job? But if it was his job, then why would he let himself get this frustrated? I looked over at him again—he was staring at nothing in particular in front of him.

"No one owns me—let's get that straight right now. Also, I'm sorry that it bothers you; I'll definitely make more of an effort to keep him away from me."

I put my hand on top of his and smiled.

"I appreciate that you care about me," I sniffled, tears welling up again.

He turned his hand to hold mine for a moment.

"Don't worry about it."

Its funny how such a simple gesture, could make one became a whirlpool of emotions.

Some off the top are: shy, embarrassed, sad, happy, and sentimental, but what took over the most were the butterflies in my stomach.

But would that then mean that I…had a crush on Toushirou?

Then everything clicked.

The more I thought about it, the deeper I realized my feelings were.

Why I felt so much better whenever he was around, why his opinion mattered so much to me, why I felt so incredibly guilty every time I had to lie to him.

Lying….that's right.

I immediately stopped myself from delving any deeper into this new realization—it would hurt more than it did in that very instant tenfold. My demeanor immediately saddened, and as much as I wanted to keep holding on to that strong, comforting hand, I took my hand back.

"Toushirou,"

He placed his hand back on his lap.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever had to kill anyone?" I asked.

The expression on his face changed; thrown aback by my sudden subject-changing question.

"It depends. By definition, yes, but for the most part the form of 'killing' Shinigami do is to help souls pass on to the Soul Society. Why do you ask now all of a sudden?" He questioned.

"It's just been on my mind lately is all…I also heard about something from Urahara that's been on my mind a lot lately too," I paused, and he waited for me to continue.

"He told me about these beings called Bounto. I'm sure you've heard of them?"

"Yes, we dealt with them a few months back. I even had a direct encounter with one of them." He stated.

My head snapped to him and he gave me a weird look.

"Really? Could you tell me about everything that happened?" I asked.

And so—with slight confusion over my request—he told me all about what was reported to him. Told me about the battle he had with one of them, what they did when they lived, that they turned to dust when the died, and how in the end, none survived.

I was surprised at Kurosaki's involvement to say the least; it made me more nervous about talking to him tomorrow, but that was beside the point. I was more concerned about Toushirou's take on things.

"Do you feel bad about taking his life?" I asked about the one he fought.

"Killing in itself isn't a good feeling, but if done for the right reasons—such as the greater good—then I don't feel bad about it." He replied yawning; it really was getting late.

"I'm sorry to keep you up, I know you must be tired. So I'll ask you this one last thing; how do you feel about their race specifically? Beside the actions of the recent ones, do you think that they deserved to be erased? And lastly, _lastly,_ if there were any Bounto still remaining, would you kill them?"

"When you're a Shinigami—especially a Taichou at that—your job is to follow orders; similar to your world's militia. We were ordered to eliminate them with no regard to how we personally felt about it, and so that's what we did."

"As far as their existence goes—in my opinion—if they weren't hurting anything, then they should've been left alone. Or for instance if they helped in a way, similar to the one woman Bounto—I believe her name was Souma Yoshino. She was killed in her fight with Kariya, but if she hadn't have died in that fight, then she should have been spared by the Soul Society. Again, this is all in my opinion. In reality, although she did try to help, there's no doubt in my mind that the Soul Society would've eventually ordered her execution. As for the last question, whatever the order is, I would follow it." He concluded.

"Oh, I see…"

That did it.

"Thanks for answering my questions," I said getting up from the bed.

"I appreciate it." I said, starting to walk up the stairs.

"Are you okay?" I heard him ask.

I couldn't answer; it was happening and it was happening now. I sprinted up the stairs, into my parents bathroom and threw up. Everything that he just said made my nerves go so haywire that tears couldn't quite do the job—the only release was vomiting. During the disgusting act, I heard Toushirou at the door.

"Takashita! What the Hell happened? Are you all right?" He asked, turning the doorknob.

"Stay out!" I said a little too loud.

The door stayed shut, but I heard a thump on the ground beside the door.

I finished up, cleaned myself, brushed my teeth, wiped the smeared makeup off my face and opened the door. Toushirou got up immediately.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It must be food poisoning," I replied, not making eye contact and moving past him.

"Are you going to be all right?" He asked following me down the staircase.

"Yes I'll be fine; I just need to go to sleep. Thanks for comforting me; you have no idea how much your kindness means to me. Goodnight, Toushirou."

I quickly climbed into our bed and threw the covers over myself. I already knew there was no sleeping tonight.

He said goodnight back—albeit reluctantly—and laid down as well.

For the rest of the night, only one painfully emotional thought kept buzzing around in my head.

" _If he finds out about me…he might just kill me."_


	14. Chapter 14

Needless to say, I didn't end up sleeping at all.

After Toushirou tossed and turned for a bit, he finally drifted off to sleep—although I could tell he was still bothered. For the rest of the night, I kept thinking about how obvious it's been from the get-go.

I had a crush on Hitsugaya Toushirou.

I've had a crush on him probably since the first time he saved me from that Hollow. Granted, it kind of doubled from a light crush into a full blown one after I regained my memories—I was just too stubborn to really see it. I had always thought that I of course liked him as a friend, but that he mainly was just a cold, grumpy old man in an attractive young body.

Hideki was definitely cute, but it was such a different feeling with him than it was with Toushirou. Hideki made me feel like an ordinary girl who had a movie star choose her out of all the other celebrities he could have. It was a like an empty satisfaction that looked great on the outside, but had no meaning on the inside.

With my feelings for Toushirou however, although his feelings for me were unknown, there was much more fulfilling satisfaction that came with the feelings.

It's funny; I never thought that I'd fall for a guy like him. I thought that since he found me pesky and annoying that it was a challenge—a challenge to change his mind so he could consider me a close friend. But now thinking again, I've realized that not only did I want his acceptance, but I wanted so much more than that.

But of course, now there's no hope for anything other than light friendship to ever ensue—if that. If anything, he might just be the literal end of me. If I can't control myself and turn into a Hollow…he'll promptly do what needs to be done.

As completely gut-wrenching as that fact was, if anyone was going to kill me, I guess I would want it to be Toushirou. At least he would put me down 'humanely' as silly as that sounded.

Soon enough, the sun came up, and Toushirou got up to get ready for school. I got up with him, bid him a good morning without making eye contact and then hopped in the shower. I felt disgusting—like some sick animal that needed to be taken to be euthanized.

I really hoped and prayed that Ichigo would help me. I wondered if there was some type of cure for my situation; someway to reverse what I am. Maybe I could talk to Urahara today—he seemed like a really smart and scientific guy, although my life is now science fiction and all logic has been thrown out the window.

I got out of the shower, and got ready for school. I looked at my eyes; Toushirou was right, wearing makeup to sleep every night did in fact bring bags. I mean, I knew it would, but now that I actually see it, it looks terrible. I applied more makeup to cover it up. Maybe I could get one of those eye masks so he wouldn't see it. Or more than likely I should just take my damn makeup off and let him think I'm ugly so that he can ignore me more and my crush would dissipate. There we go, that's the easier, probably better option.

I finished up and headed back downstairs to the kitchen; my stomach felt like it was eating itself. I made some toast and put a little butter on it, then made a simple PB&J sandwich for lunch. Toushirou was sitting at the table drinking his tea as always, while Rangiku was sprawled across the couch, waiting for us to finish up.

"All right, I'm ready to go." I said as I finished my toast.

Toushirou downed the rest of his tea, and we left.

The first couple periods were _so_ straining. Because I had missed so much, I couldn't afford to go to sleep; I had to stay up and pay attention—it sucked. I literally had so much to catch up on already since I took off school from my parents passing away, and now I missed another week. It was so much that I honestly felt like I was going to fail and not graduate.

Although the day was dragging, it was finally fourth period; at least after this period I could get lunch. As soon as I walked into the classroom was when I saw _him_.

Hideki Katsu.

I'd almost forgotten amidst the madness of how much homework I had to catch up on. I walked over to my desk, and immediately when I sat down Hideki scooted his desk against mine.

"Good morning, Kawaii-chan! I'm so happy you're finally back!" Hideki smiled, placing his hand on mine.

I immediately took my hand back.

"Hello Hideki, thanks." I mustered, folding my arms together.

"I have a surprise for you," He said, grabbing his book bag.

He reached inside, pulled out a stack of paper, and put it on my desk.

I looked at it and saw that the first page had my name written up at the top. The page looked really familiar…

"What…is this?" I asked as I began flickering through the pages.

"Your homework for the past week. I picked it up each day from each class and did it for you since you've been sick." Hideki said, pushing the papers toward me.

Oh my God.

My eyes were beaming; this was too freaking good to be true. Now all I had to worry about was the homework from when my parents passed—which I already had a good handle on from spare time in the last 3 periods.

"Hideki, you…"

"…are amazing?" He cut in and finished.

I chuckled lightly and flashed a small smile.

"You didn't have to do this Hideki; I really appreciate that you took the time out of your day to help me while I've been sick." I said.

"No problem at all, Kawaii-chan. Only the best for you." He grinned crookedly.

I put the homework he completed for me in my bag and then class began. Hideki kept his desk up against mine, and even though Toushirou said that I don't owe him anything, I felt like I did. I mean, he definitely just helped me save my grades big time! The end of the school year was close at hand, and the fact that I missed so much school meant that every assignment was vital. Thanks to Hideki, I would have a better chance to get all this work in and to graduate.

Class ended, marking the beginning of our lunch period. I gathered my things into my bag and started making my way to the end of the classroom.

Hideki was waiting for me at the door; I looked up at him and flashed a small smile.

"Thanks again, Hideki!" I said.

"Again—not a problem—but please, let me escort you to your friends for lunch." He smiled and motioned me forward.

"Oh, uh, it's fine, I'm capable of walking by my—"

"Nonsense! It would be my pleasure!" He looped his arm through mine and started walking; me dragging behind him.

I stuttered out some weird half words trying to pull away and stop at first, but then I just let it happen. I took my arm back and walked alongside him, exhaling loudly.

Toushirou was going to lose it.

We walked up the stairs and opened the door up to the roof. Everyone wasn't there yet—thank God. Once we got to my normal spot, I spun around quickly to face Hideki.

"Well, thanks for walking me up, and thanks for the help with the homework! I'll see ya later!" I said.

I turned around to put my bag down, but before I could, he grabbed me by my wrist and turned me back around. I looked back at him and he knelt down on one knee, a single rose in his hand.

" _Oh my God, what the Hell is happening!"_ I internally screeched.

"Kawaii-chan, I've been dying to ask you," he began.

At that moment, everyone walked into the rooftop area—including Toushirou and Rangiku. I mentally cringed because whatever happened now was not only in sight, but also in ear-shot, which meant whatever he said would definitely be heard.

" _Oh shit oh shit oh shit."_

"Would you be my date for the Promenade this Friday evening?"

Well needless to say I was definitely blushing—I had completely forgotten about Prom.

I could only stutter from how shocked I was.

"I, uh…well,"

Suddenly, another hand pushed Hideki's hand out of mine and took its place.

"Sorry, but she's already attending with me."

Frozen, I looked up at the person holding my hand tightly.

Honestly, I didn't know how to react.

Hideki chuckled.

"My, my, it seems that I'm too late in asking you. How unfortunately unfair." He then stood up and placed the rose in my free hand.

"At the very least, the rose is still for you, Kawaii-chan." He turned toward the door to the staircase.

"Hopefully, you can spare me a dance at the Prom; surely you could grant me that," He paused.

I stared breathing again.

"T-that'll…uhh…sure?" I barely choked out above a whisper.

He smiled, then opened the door and walked out.

I looked over at Toushirou—whose hand was still holding mine—and did nothing; I didn't really know what to do.

He let go of my hand and shoved his own in his pocket.

"Come over here for a moment, would you?" He asked, but there was no room for exception—it definitely was a command.

I followed him behind one of the sheds. He combed his fingers through his hair.

"What happened to keeping your distance, Takashita?" He asked coolly.

I could tell he was trying not to seem pissed off.

I twisted the flower in my hand lightly, staring at it for a moment.

"I tried, but he did me a _huge_ favor. In return for the favor, he wanted to walk me up to lunch. I had no idea he was going to ask me out to Prom—I'm really shocked." I explained.

"And what _huge favor_ did he do for you this time?"

The way he asked the question pissed me off, so I took out the stack of homework Hideki did for me and held it up in front of his face.

"He did all of my homework for the past week since I've been sick. You out of everyone know just how much school I've missed lately; I've honestly been thinking that I might not be able to graduate with how far behind I am. But now with this little bit of help, I think I'm going to be able to get caught up. School may not be important to you, but It unfortunately has to be for me. If I somehow make it out of this whole situation we're in _alive_ , then I have to graduate so I can get a job. Once you and the others go back to the Soul Society, I'll have no one. No financial support at all, and no family to rely on. It's because of those reasons that I _at the very least_ let him walk me up here as a way of thanks." I explained.

He didn't say anything; just looked at me, thinking.

"As far as the Prom thing goes, I had no idea he planned on asking me. I didn't count on anyone _actually_ liking me enough to formally ask me. It's stupid and I suck at dancing, but Prom has always been the one high school function I've ever wanted to go to. I just figured that I wouldn't end up going because I'd just be sitting there by myself anyway. Hideki and I aren't close, but I would've considered taking him up on his offer just to go. But now you're saying that you're taking me? Or did you just say that to get him off me?" I asked trying not to let my voice crack.

He sighed.

"Rangiku had told me about it a while back; she had heard other girls in the school talking about it. She thought it would be fun for one of us to take you, and wanted to talk to you about it, but was afraid it might be a little too feminine for your liking. And with everything that's happened, the thought to even bring it up hasn't crossed our minds, until now that is."

He looked at me for a moment and then continued.

"But given everything that's happened, if you would really like to go, then I'll be the one to accompany you. I'd rather take you than let Hideki."

"Toushirou..." I trailed off, looking down.

"I'd rather just not go if you're only taking me for that reason. If you yourself actually don't want to go with me, then I feel like I'm forcing you—which isn't what I want…" I told him.

I instantly felt sad.

While it gave me butterflies that Toushirou intervened the way he did, it just didn't feel right. I'd always wanted to go with someone who _wanted_ to go with me—not because of some obligation. But then again—with my situation—it would only be under obligation. He was here to watch me, not fall in love with me like some poorly-written story. And on top of that, anything more than friendship was out of the question.

Toushirou sighed pretty loudly. He ruffled my hair like I was some child and placed his hand on the top of my head. He then came down to eye level, and I already knew I was blushing.

"You're not forcing me, Takashita." He started, teal orbs staring at mine.

"With what you've said earlier about your future, you need to enjoy the times before having to work hard for the rest of your human years. If there is something you'd really like to do, then do it. If you need somebody to go with, then myself or one of the others can go with you. As for this event in particular, I'd be more than happy to escort you, especially because..."

He closed his eyes, frustration creases starting to form in between them.

"I don't trust Hideki, and I'd never forgive myself if something happened. Not even just because it's my job, but because I care about you as a person." He stated, opening his eyes to stare directly into mine again.

I looked away, unable to keep the same gaze any longer due to shyness. A small smile crept on my face.

"Thank you, Toushirou; I'd really like it if you would accompany me."

God this was so hard; why the Hell did I like this freaking kid so damn much?

He let go of my head and stepped back.

"Then it's settled." He confirmed.

"But again, until then please be careful around Hideki."

I nodded in acknowledgement before changing things into a lighter subject.

"Do you even own a suit?" I asked, chuckling.

"What's a suit?"

-[×]-

School ended and it was time for training to resume back at Urahara's. It was also time to talk to Kurosaki—which had my nerves in disarray. I ended up convincing Toushirou that Kurosaki was going to escort me to Urahara's, and with a little help from Kurosaki himself, he bought it. Toushirou and Rangiku left with the others, and Kurosaki, Renji and I started walking to Urahara's.

"Hey Renji, why are you tagging along?" I asked walking closer to him.

"Was there something you needed to talk to Urahara about?"

Renji laughed loudly.

"Azumi, you haven't noticed that I'm living with him at the moment?"

My eyes widened.

"O-Oh! You do? I had no idea! I didn't even see you!" I forced out a small laugh.

Could that mean…

He chuckled again

"You ought to pay more attention; in a battle, you would've already been dead." He put his hand on my head.

I pushed it off immediately, huffing.

"Yeah, yeah I know, that's why I'm still trying to learn." I stuck out my tongue, pushing him a few steps back.

We finally arrived at Urahara's, and he sat with us at the little table upstairs in the shop. Tessai poured some tea and then suddenly Renji joined us at the table. Urahara looked at me while fanning himself.

"It's okay, Azumi-chan, he already knows."

I looked at Renji with a tad bit of shock in my gaze.

He looked back at me for a moment and then looked away.

"Go ahead; I won't say anything." He said.

I looked down at my hands. Well, at least one Shinigami didn't turn me in. But still, I wasn't about to take my chances yet with the rest of them.

And so, I told Kurosaki everything. From top to bottom. Renji definitely was interested the entire time as well; I assumed that maybe he just knew the basics but he clearly corrected me.

The way Renji found out was when I transformed into a Hollow the other day. He was also in the basement at the time—far off in the distance training—when he felt my reiatsu spike. He ran over and witnessed a Hollow trying to fight Urahara, and before he could go to help him, another Hollow was tossed into a pit, then I was kicked down after it. Urahara explained it all to him, and told him that 'Moochers follow the owner's rules,' and made him swear secrecy.

Kurosaki suddenly cut in.

"So then, if this is all true, what do you plan on doing about it?"

I straightened myself up and replied.

"I wanted to see if you had any information about Hollow transformation, if you could show me how you transform at will, and how to control it."

Kurosaki sighed.

"I've only recently begun to understand it. The most I can do, is transform for a couple seconds, then I have to recuperate for a while." He replied, folding his arms.

"It's very frustrating; the damn Hollow inside just wants full control at all times. In his words; he wants to be the 'King' and make me the 'Horse.' So far, it's been through willpower alone that I'm able to keep him at bay. The times I have slipped, however, have been very dangerous. I'm sorry I can't give you much more pointers." He concluded.

"Kurosaki, are you saying that there is another entity inside you that you can communicate with?" I asked, beyond curious now.

"Yes, but he's still me—how can I put this." Kurosaki started, only to be interrupted by Urahara.

"Azumi-chan, Shinigami all have a Zanpakuto. Their Zanpakuto are their own souls that they are able to communicate with and use for their benefit. Abarai-san has Zabimaru, Kurosaki-san has Getsuga, and I have Benihime. Our souls take the form of a Zanpakuto to help up fight. Each Shinigami communicates with their Zanpakuto—or inner soul—as if they were separate entities, and they utilize this to train and get stronger. Learning about your own soul is necessary to perform Shikai and Bankai, which are released stages of Zanpakuto. When trying to communicate with your soul, for a moment you go into your own mind, which would be the world they live in. After some time, it is easier to meditate and go into that world to train." He paused to make sure I followed, and continued.

"However, with Kurosaki-san it is a bit of a different story. He not only has Getsuga, but Hollow Getsuga as well. It's almost like having two-parts to his soul—am I correct in saying that?" He asked Kurosaki, and he nodded in response.

"When I dig inside myself, there is an old man there named Getsuga, and he helps me to better myself for battle and shows me how I can find peace. The other form of Getsuga—the Hollow one that looks identical to me—only really tries to take over everything. It's as if I had 3 personalities; the normal one you're used to seeing, the wise and careful one, and the violent and destructive one. If I slip up, the violent one will take over and kill everything and everyone." He looked sharply at me.

"But if I am able to control it, I can use it to my advantage and become stronger. Even now, using it for a few seconds increases my power dramatically. But still, I can't completely control it." He furrowed his brows angrily.

The room got quiet as I tried to soak in everything just thrown at me. I'd always heard them calling their swords names, but I had no idea it went that deep—I just thought it was like naming a car or something. But it's the name of their inner souls…I wondered what Toushirou and Rangiku's were.

Kurosaki continued.

"So what about your Doll? Wouldn't that be similar to our Zanpakuto? Wouldn't you be able to communicate with it to see if you can gain control?" He asked.

"I don't have a Doll yet. At the moment, I'm still too weak to have one and will most likely be killed immediately; right Urahara?" I asked.

Urahara nodded his head.

"Yes, it is true, but now I'm wondering if Kurosaki is on to something." He cupped his chin in thought.

"Dolls are similar to Zanpakuto in the sense that they are a part of your soul. The difference is that they manifest into separate beings rather than take the shape of a Zanpakuto. They also will turn on you if they consider you weak, whereas a Zanpakuto will help you get stronger. It's definitely interesting to say the least. But Kurosaki may have a point; if you had a Doll, you may be able to find a way to control yourself." He concluded.

"I think it's worth a shot," I said before drinking some of my tea.

"Hopefully I get stronger fast so that we can test out the theory." I said with an exhale.

Urahara stood up suddenly.

"While we're on the topic, I've actually alreqdy completed the construction of yours, Azumi-chan. Maybe with Abarai-san and Kurosaki-san here, we can control the situation and use your Doll to our advantage early. If you all would please follow me, I'd like to see if we can do this right now." He smiled.

I hopped up immediately.

This was too exciting.

"If you think im ready, then sure of course!" I responded giddily.

We followed Urahara to the back of the shop and into what looked like an office/lab. It had a few counters along the walls and a huge table with a rolling chair in the middle. There were papers scattered on some of the counters along with some beakers and microscopes, but the real focus was a wide tray on the table. The tray was rectangular, and eight vials were positioned along the edges with a candle in the middle. Urahara walked up to it, and took out a matchbook.

"Azumi-chan, I need you to come over here please." Urahara called.

I walked over to him with Kurosaki and Renji following suit.

"Urahara, what is that?" Kurosaki asked for me.

Urahara pulled a book out from a drawer under the table.

"This is a book created by Kariya—the former leader of the Bounto. It's all in German, so it took me a little time to decipher, but I finally was able to translate it, and figure out how to create a Doll. It calls for a few different compounds which took me a little while to find as well." He motioned to the vials on the table.

"Now Azumi-chan, this is where I need you. I need you to mix your reiatsu with the compounds. The only ones who can successfully create a Doll are Bounto. I can't pour my reiatsu into it, but I can do all of the main work. When the time comes, I need you to call out to the Doll; can you do that?" He asked.

I gulped and agreed to it.

I put my hand on the tray and let my reiatsu flow through; letting it seep into the powders in the vials. At that moment, he lit the candle at the center of the tray and opened the book. He chanted something in German, and then lightly tapped my shoulder; I assumed that was the signal. I didn't know exactly how I should come off, but I just went with it.

"Doll, please come forth." I called.

At that moment, the flame on the candle grew and burned fiercely.

I took my hand back and stepped away from the tray. Immediately Urahara created a barrier around the table and we all stepped back.

The flame from the candle knocked all of the vials toward it, and all the compounds set on fire in unison. There was an ear-splitting, high-pitched shriek, and immediately all of our hands went up to cover our ears. A faint golden glow surrounded the tray and the shrieking stopped. I walked up to the barrier and placed my hands up against it, looking at the small creature now on the center of the tray.

It was a brownish gold pudgy-looking ball; like the creature was still developing. It wiggled around until it's arms—or should I say wings—unmolded from its sides. Two little legs started to form at its base, and they wiggled around as well until they gained better form. It was then that I noticed Urahara, Kurosaki and Renji were at my sides as well—eyes fixated on the little being. What looked like a head popped out from the top, and slowly eyes and a beak began to form.

"It looks like an owl," I whispered.

Urahara looked for another moment at the being and agreed.

The beak suddenly opened, and the creature—a female—began to speak.

"Where is my Master? Step forth and prove your worth."

She didn't even have her eyes open and she was already putting me on the spot.

I inhaled deeply and motioned Urahara to make the barrier larger and to let me in. He was against it, but I pressured him to give in.

"We'll be right here, Azumi-chan. If something goes wrong, we'll take care of it." Urahara said sternly.

I nodded and he let me in.

I walked up to the creature, and stood in front of her. Her eyes flickered open at me, and took my image in for a few seconds before speaking.

"Show me your reiatsu, Master." She asked.

I held my hand out in front of her and let my reiatsu flow into the palm of my hand.

"What is your name?" I asked.

I tried to sound stern, but I tinged it with a little bit of motherly affection so as not to cause conflict.

The miniature owl walked over and sliced one of my fingers with one of her sharp talons. I sucked in air to stifle the shriek I wanted to give out, and she responded.

"Yoru no Shedo." She replied.

She then bent down to my bloodied finger and sniffed it before licking it up; I could already tell that my eyes were turning red.

"Takashita Azumi." I replied back.

After Yoru no Shedo finished licking up my blood, I saw that the wound she gave me was healed completely.

She took a few steps back and folded her legs in. I have to admit, I'd never seen an owl sit before, but it was pretty hysterical. But of course it wasn't the time for laughter.

"I need rest to completely develop. I will require 3 days, and need to be connected to you at all times. On the 4th day, you will have to prove yourself in combat to me or I will destroy you." She looked at me, and then before any response could be made she continued.

"See you soon, _Master._ " she concluded.

She then glowed brightly and turned into two flat, metal, silver talon-shaped earrings.

I looked at her jeweled form; stunned by her threat. Immediately I took her jeweled form and put her on each ear. Urahara removed the barrier and we all stood in silence for a moment.

"Well, looks like we've got work to do." Urahara snickered.

I gulped.


	15. Chapter 15

" _Focus."_

" _Just bring it out."_

" _How in the Hell did you do this before?"_

Two days had gone by since we created Yoru no Shedo; it was now Thursday and I was in the middle of my second day of offensive training. Kurosaki slashed at me again, and thanks to my prior training with Yoruichi along with the past few days, I successfully dodged.

" _Why is this so hard?"_

I ran at Kurosaki, attempting to land a punch. He was too fast for me, and blocked with his forearm before shoving me back a few feet. He lunged at me, and I used my reiatsu to push myself farther away from him. I luckily was steadily getting better and better at controlling my reiatsu.

"Kurosaki," I called as soon as I landed.

"Put your Hollow Mask on."

He paused for a moment and gazed at me in surprise.

"Takashita, you have no idea what you're asking for." He said in a serious tone.

"I need to see it—I can't continue this if I don't." I replied.

He gave me a long look.

He then put his hand up at the top corner of his face, and when he pulled downward, his Hollow mask began to form.

I was speechless.

There he stood—yellow and black eyes gazing at me.

It scared me to my core.

Is that what I looked like?

As I kept staring into that lifeless mask on Kurosaki's face, his gaze awakened something. How or why, I can't explain; all I knew was that I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Something inside me burned; like someone kept adding wood to a fire within my soul, and I longed to open a hole for it to be released. It just called for me to make a move, as if danger held a blade to my throat.

Suddenly, Kurosaki sprinted at me.

I rose my hand and kept thinking of that fire, and I realized through my airy thought-process that it was my reiatsu—it was leaking out of me like an overflowing bucket of water. I formed it in my hand; a red, hot, glowing orb floating on my palm. I faced my palm toward Kurosaki, and let it explode.

It fired off, and blew away the boulder behind Kurosaki like it was a pile of dust.

Kurosaki gracefully landed off to the side, removing his Hollow Mask as he planted his feet. I immediately crouched to my knees, panting. The roaring fire inside me dwindled down into a tiny flame on a matchstick; all of my energy was zapped instantly.

Kurosaki walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You did pretty good." He complimented.

I managed a thumbs-up, and Kurosaki walked back toward where Urahara and Renji were standing.

"Azumi-chan!" Urahara called, walking over.

He bent down and started fanning me as he continued.

"You need to take a break! You've used almost all of your reiatsu." He smiled as I plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.

"If you overdo it, you'll end up fainting, Azumi-chan. Try to be more careful when you release a Cero."

I looked up at him, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"So that, _officially_ was a Cero? It's confirmed?" I asked.

Tessai came over with a towel and some water, and handed it to me as Urahara spoke.

"Yes, it most certainly was. A Cero is a very powerful attack, Azumi-chan. You need to use extreme caution when you use it. But at the very least, tonight we've made progress. Over the past few weeks, your speed and defensive capabilities have increased the most over your offensive capabilities. Since Ulquiorra's last visit a while back, you haven't faced any real danger. Because of that, your offensive capabilities aren't as strong as your defensive. But now that you're once again able to use a Cero, this changes things; we just need to have a better handle on it." He looked up into the false sky, staring at one of clouds.

"But I'm curious as to what powers Yoru no Shedo has." He glanced down at the silver earring dangling from my right ear.

"Let's hope you're ready for her." He snapped his fan shut.

Suddenly, Toushirou appeared in front of us.

"Takashita, what happened?" He hurried toward me, inspecting me.

"Good evening, Hitsugaya-Taichou!" Urahara said a little too cheerfully.

"It's very nice to see you! It's been far too long!" He fanned himself and stepped toward us.

"What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Takashita's reiatsu was flaring out of control and then suddenly almost vanished; I thought something might have happened." He bent down and studied my face.

My face was already red from exhaustion, so you couldn't really tell that I was blushing from embarrassment.

"Oh, Toushirou! I'm fine! I just really over-did it today. Training with Kurosaki is definitely harder than I thought!" I grinned.

Toushirou exhaled loudly. He looked over to where Kurosaki and Renji were training and scowled.

"Is he fighting you with his Zanpakuto?" He asked.

I hesitated.

"Uh…well," I trailed off—his gaze didn't falter. "Maybe…" I smiled sheepishly.

Before he could say anything I continued.

"Oh quit being a worry-wart! I'll be fine! Remember, this is how _I'm choosing_ to train. It's not like I'm gonna die—I'll be fine!" I patted his shoulder.

"Besides, everyone and their mother has a weapon. Since I don't have one, I'm gonna have to learn how to fight without one."

He sighed again as he straightened up to a standing position. He muttered something to himself angrily, and stretched his hand out to me.

"It's about 9 p.m. already; are you ready to go?" He asked.

I grabbed his hand and he helped me up. I looked at Urahara for the answer—he nodded and I bid him good night as Toushirou and I walked out of the basement.

-[×]-

"So, where's Rangiku?" I asked.

"Out patrolling." Toushirou replied.

We had gotten home just a little while ago, and were both sitting up on the roof, looking at the night sky.

"I see," I responded.

I looked up at the half-moon glowing brightly in the sky.

"The moon looks beautiful tonight," I commented.

There was a brief pause, and I decided to strike up another conversatiom.

"Toushirou," I lightly called; he hummed with a questioning tone in response.

"Do you like being here?" I asked.

He didn't respond for a moment, looking up at the moon.

"I've grown accustomed to it." He replied.

"I'm glad to hear that." I smiled, albeit sadly.

"Why do you ask?"

"I just was wondering." I twiddled my fingers.

A shooting star flew by.

"Make a wish, Toushirou!" I nudged him lightly with my elbow.

He didn't respond. I intertwined my fingers together and closed my eyes, making my wish.

"Satisfied?" He asked, a hint of playfulness in his tone; I opened my eyes and looked back at him.

"Yeah, I just hope it comes true." I smiled.

"What was it?" He asked.

I huffed.

"Toushirou! I'm surprised at you! Don't you know that if you tell someone your wish, it won't come true? Sheesh!"

"I guess so." He responded.

I shoved him playfully and laid down against the shingles. It had been a long time since I'd been up on the rooftop—I missed just being up here to pass the time. The wind came rolling in, and I shivered. If I were smarter I would've brought a blanket. I sat back up and dusted myself off. I rose to my feet and looked down at Toushirou.

"I'm gonna go grab a blanket, do you want any—"

The air became so heavy that I couldn't breathe—let alone finish my sentence.

It felt like my feet had concrete blocks strapped to them, and I couldn't budge an inch. Toushirou sprang to his feet like nothing, and grabbed the shrieking phone from his pocket.

"Arrancar," He breathed out.

He looked over at me and saw me struggling. He immediately swooped me up and flash-stepped us inside. He set me down on my bed gently and grabbed my shoulders, looking at me in the eyes.

"Breathe, Takashita; raise your reiatsu a bit to help yourself."

I did what he said and it indeed helped. I gasped in the oxygen and tried to calm myself.

"Toushirou, how many are there? I haven't felt it this bad before." I mustered out somewhat shakily.

He took one of his hands off my shoulders and grabbed his phone again.

"It looks like 4 Espada-level Arrancar," He grit his teeth and put the phone next to me on the bed.

He took out his candy dispenser and popped in the Soul candy to separate from his gigai. Once he was in his Shinigami form, he grabbed the cell phone again and put it in his pocket.

"Stay here, Takashita; don't leave this house. I have to go." He started turning around and I grabbed his wrist.

He looked back at me, eyes hard and focused on the battle to come. I grabbed his hand with both of mine, squeezing for a moment.

"Please, _please_ be safe and come back to me, Toushirou." I looked up at him, my eyes no doubt glossy.

"I can't lose any more people in my life." I swallowed the lump in my throat.

He squeezed my hand back and looked away. "I'll be back, Takashita."

He let go and flash-stepped out the window.

Toushirou's gigai decided to lay down on the ground and sleep until Toushirou's return. I sat there on my old bed, worrying my brains out.

What was I supposed to do now? Sit here until they came home? _If_ they came home? Waves of nausea crashed against my stomach, and I bit down at my lip trying to fight it.

I decided that the only thing I really _could_ do was to go downstairs and watch television. I got up and walked out of my room toward the staircase; holding the rail—something I never do—in unease as I walked down.

A scream stopped me dead in my tracks.

I froze until the high-pitched scream ended, then ran down the rest of the stairs and looked out the living room window.

There was a huge, snake-like Hollow on my front lawn. It roared and sprang toward my house.

"Shit!" I shouted.

I clenched my fists and squeezed my eyes shut.

I heard the scream again.

I looked outside and saw a little ghost girl that the Hollow must've been after.

She managed to evade the attack just in time—although she practically fell in doing so—and starting running as fast as she could down the sidewalk; the Hollow slithering behind her.

I stood there processing the situation for a moment. I knew I was told to stay in the house…but…

I sighed loudly.

"Toushirou's going to kill me for this..."

I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me, running in the direction the two of them went. I looked down the street, and saw some smoke toward the end of the block. Without another moments hesitation, I sprinted as fast as I could to the smoke.

With each step I took, the more I convinced myself that this was the right this to do. Toushirou and the others were dealing with the Espada; nobody was on patrol for regular Hollows right now. Nobody would save this little girl; I was the only option.

I finally reached the smoke at the end of the block. Looking around, I saw that they continued down the street toward the playground. I kept running until I finally saw them.

There was the little ghost girl—with blonde pigtails looking no older than five—screaming at the top of her lungs, as the huge, serpent Hollow chased closely behind her.

"Damn it!" I cursed aloud.

I ran toward them. I didn't know what I could accomplish, but I had to do something.

"Run to me!" I shouted at the little girl.

Her head shot in my direction and she ran toward me with the Hollow on her heels. There was a jungle gym to my right, and I pointed for her to run over there. She followed my instructions, and I ran past her to the Hollow.

The Hollow stopped for a moment and cocked it's head to the side, looking at me.

"You smell more delicious than that stupid little brat does, I'm glad you decided to stop by!" It laughed and rushed toward me.

I jumped to the left—successfully dodging it's attack—and sprang back from the landing, flying toward it with a punch. It moved out of the way just in time, and as I was flying past it, it tail-slapped me into the wall. I could feel my back throbbing in pain from the concrete. It felt like my spine wanted to split vertically from the impact. I grit my teeth and pushed myself back on my feet.

The Hollow slithered my way—laughing no doubt at the fact that I was cornered.

"Look at this, trapped like a rat!" It snickered.

"It was fun while it lasted, child!"

It lunged toward me with its fangs protruding from its gums, and forked tongue turned up at the tip.

I channeled my reiatsu to my feet, and jumped upward as fast as I could. The Hollow crashed into the concrete wall, and I channeled my reiatsu into my right leg. I came down with Yoruichi's famous downward kick right against the Hollow's skull.

Success.

The Hollow crashed down into the concrete, some of its blood splattering against the pavement and the wall.

It disintegrated into dust.

I grinned like a little child, pumping my fists into the air.

"I did it!" I cheered.

I heard some giggling and saw the little girl coming out of hiding. She started running up toward me, her grin as huge as mine was.

"You did it, Nee-chan! You saved me!" She giggled again, and I started making my way toward her.

I pet her small head and grabbed her fragile little hand.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked, letting her hand go and cupping her little face.

She smiled up at me, pushing her face against my palm.

"Yes, I'm all right, thanks to you."

"That's good news," I exhaled.

"May I ask why you haven't passed over yet? It's dangerous to linger about; more Hollows like that one will come." I cautioned.

Her little face saddened as she answered my question.

"I was looking for my Mommy…I got run over by a car, and I wanted to say goodbye to her. When I tried to find my way back home, that huge monster came to try to eat me." She let out a few tears.

"All I want to do is say goodbye to my Mommy, then I'll pass over." She started choking up sobs.

I wiped away her tears with the hand cupping her face.

"It's okay; I'll help you find your Mommy, I promise. I only ask for one thing,"

She looked up at me; her glossy eyes prompting me to continue.

"Cheer up for me! Show me that smile you just had on your face a couple seconds ago!" I flashed a toothy-grin at her.

She sniffled a little bit, and with a little bit of effort, smiled back at me.

"There ya go!" I patted her head again. She giggled in response.

I wiped away the remaining tears on her face.

"Come with me to my house; I have some friends that I'd like you to meet. They'll help us find your Mommy, I promise!" I smiled at her.

"Sounds like fun, Nee-chan!" She said.

I grabbed her hand and turned to start walking with her by my side.

Everything seemed like it was looking up; I was incredibly hopeful by my success that I just felt like everyone would come back unscathed. However, feelings like that are always short-lived...

The sound of choking broke my cheery demeanor; stopping my movement. I looked down at the little girl beside me and froze stiff. There the little ghost girl stood—her hand still in mine—with a bloodied sword sticking out the front of her; she looked down at the protrusion and coughed up blood.

"What…what's happening?" She asked.

"N-Nee-chan," she called.

Immediately she disintegrated, leaving nothing but her coughed up blood on the pavement below.

I stood there, staring at it in such a shock that I couldn't process what just happened.

A familiar reiatsu burned behind me. I watched as they shook the blood off their sword, and heard as it was put back in it's sheath.

"My, my, what a horrid little girl. She got my Zanpakuto dirty." The woman said, taking a step toward me.

I was so unbelievably furious that all I could do was stand there—stand there and stare at the spot the little girl— _who I just rescued_ —spat up blood.

I could feel my eyes starting to turn red at the sight of her blood. My hands clenched into fists—my nails digging into my palms.

"Why do _I_ have to waste my time here trying to capture you, when all I really want to do is kill you?" The woman said as she stepped in front of the little girl's blood on the ground.

"If you had only listened to what I said, I would've spared that horrid little brat. But you didn't—you didn't listen at all. But what more could I expect, from a _disgusting Bounto like you?_ "

The familiar black quickly spread across my pupils.

Tonight wasn't going to end well.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I didn't want to use it, but I had no other choice. The Gentekaijou release was taking far too long; if I didn't use it, myself and the others would die.

"Bankai!"

My wings of ice emerged along with the claws and dragonhead over my hands and feet. My 3 ice flowers were at full bloom behind me, but I didn't have very much time.

"Daiguren, Hyorinmaru!"

I lunged forward at the released-formed Espada with a downward slash. He countered by blocking with his Hierro forearm, and flew back at the attack.

"Impressive, Taichou-san! I'm thrilled that you're finally using your full strength! Now the real fun begins," He smirked.

I held my stance, Hyourinmaru firmly gripped with both hands.

"What is your purpose here, Espada?"

He took a few steps forward, laughing hysterically.

"Oh, Taichou-san, you honestly think that I would just tell you? Just like that?" He laughed more.

"Do I look like a simpleton to you? You've got to be joking!"

"Fine, if you won't tell me, then I'll just have to force it out of you." I countered.

He cocked an eye at me, but before he could blink, an ice dragon crashed into his face and he went flying into the ground. I followed him down, ready to launch another ice dragon at him.

He launched a Cero, and I dodged to the left; losing part of my right ice wing in the process. He saw the opportunity and took it—he flew up and slashed me across the chest with his spiked arm.

My blood splattered on his face. He kicked me down into the same spot he was just in, and I coughed up more blood upon impact. He appeared in front of me, and looked down upon me before laughing again.

"Oh, Taichou-san, look at the mess you're in! You can't even move with a wound like that, can you?" He laughed again before continuing.

"I'll tell you what, Taichou-san, since you're about to die with my next attack, I'll fulfill your dying wish to know why we're here in the world of the living."

Suddenly the small wire I had in my ear sounded—it was Matsumoto.

" _ **Taichou! We have clearance for the limit release!"**_

I whispered the release command and I could already feel my true power coming back. I stayed silent, waiting for the information from the Espada.

"We were sent here to distract you; Aizen-sama wants that stupid little wench you and your Shinigami friends have been guarding. She's probably already in Las Noches by now, since you've all done such a horrible job of keeping her safe." He chuckled.

"What does that bastard Aizen want with her?" I retorted as calmly as I could, trying to hide the panic and anger on my face.

He was right; I left her by herself. I don't care what training she had, she's still no match for an Espada. I was running out of time.

"Woah, woah, woah, Taichou-san, I said I'd fulfill _one_ of your dying wishes, not _two_ ," He stopped to dust himself off.

"But, now that he's got her back, problem solved. Now say goodbye, Taichou-san." He grinned maliciously at me and laughed.

At that moment, I flash-stepped to him with all I had, and stabbed him through his chest. I slashed my sword out of him, and watched as the ice covered his body.

"When did you—? You bastard!" He screamed at me before Hyourinmaru's ice completely covered his head.

I waited for a few seconds for it to fully settle, then shattered the ice; the Espada shattering to pieces along with it.

I sheathed my Zanpakuto and spoke into the intercom.

"Matsumoto, status."

" _ **Ikkaku and Yumichicka have finished their opponents; they are arriving to help me shortly."**_ She replied panting.

"The Espada are after Takashita, I'm going after her."

" _ **Hai, Taichou!"**_

Without another moment's hesitation I flash-stepped back to the house.

"Takashita…please still be there…"

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

"Where am I?"

I was laying down on the cold ground, staring into the black sky above me. I pushed myself up and stood on my feet—taking in the barley visible scenario.

A forest.

There were many tall, tall trees I couldn't see the tops of, that were caressed by a faint white glow. Leaves scattered along the ground, and rustled with the howling breeze that swept by. I took a few steps forward, trying to remember just how I even got to this forest to begin with.

Suddenly, I heard a demonic screech sound off in the distance; a struggling sound directly after it. I shivered as my head snapped in that direction. It was stupid and I probably would regret it, but I fast-walked toward the sound.

The more I walked, the more spread out the trees became. The glow that was so faint before became brighter and brighter with each step, and the leaves crunching under my feet became less and less noisy. I heard something.

"That sounds like…"

I ran, following the noise. It grew louder and then remained at a constant level. There was a clearing up ahead. I ran to it, and when I arrived in the middle of the clearing, the noise was confirmed.

In front of me was a river—a river too huge to merely take a few steps over.

It would take some time to cross it, but if one tried, they might not make it to the other side. The current was far too strong to simply walk or swim across, and there were huge, sharp boulders sticking up out of the water. One could only assume there were sharper ones underneath as well. The only way that I was able to make out the details was because a huge, full moon glowed brightly in the sky, illuminating everything in the vicinity.

I walked up to a small reservoir of calm water and crouched down beside it. I looked at my reflection for a moment, brown eyes staring back into mine.

Suddenly, my reflection vanished and another scene appeared. I was witnessing something through someone else's eyes.

There was a girl, slender and beautiful with dark hair standing a few feet in front of the person. She had a strange looking helmet taking up the side of her face, and the back of her head.

Immediately I remembered who she was.

"It's that one Arrancar girl that attacked me before!" I said aloud.

I bent down closer to get a better look. She was panting heavily, but that didn't stop her from trying to attack.

" _ **You think just because he treats you well that he's all yours? You're as stupid as you are ugly, you bitch!" She yelled, slashing down at the person.**_

_**The person grabbed the sword with their clawed left hand, and grabbed her by the throat with their right. They raised her up, and the higher up she went, the more she gasped for air. The person threw her sword away, and with the now free hand, clawed her abdomen deeply.** _

_**Her blood oozed out of the wound, and the person—or should I say creature—threw her to the side like nothing. The creature looked down at it's own bloodied claws and brought them up to it's face. It licked the blood off them like it had just finished a really good meal and was getting the last remnants off it's hands.** _

_**Suddenly, there was coughing coming from the direction of where it threw the girl. The creature turned its head to view the Arrancar girl.** _

" _ **You disgusting Bounto, why on Earth does Hajime-sama even like you? You're absolutely horrendous to look at!" She paused, coughing more.**_

" _ **Damn that Aizen-sama! Why did he have to create a stupid pig like you! Hajime-sama shouldn't have to reproduce with the likes of you!"**_

_**Suddenly, the creature lunged toward her, grabbed one of her arms, and ripped it off like it was a leaf from a flower's stem.** _

_**She screamed violently and launched a Cero at the creature with her still attached arm. The creature's vision blurred, and took noticeable damage on it's right arm as it flew back from the attack.** _

_**The Arrancar girl got up, grabbed her sword and sheathed it, then grabbed her arm from the creature.** _

_**Behind her opened a portal back to Hueco Mundo like before.** _

" _ **Mark my words, Takashita Azumi, I will destroy you!" She coughed up more blood and jumped back into the portal.**_

I stumbled backward, panting heavily.

"T-That thing…was me?" I shouted and started to gag.

I turned over and released the sudden fear and panic that made its way up my throat.

"You are far too loud to be my Master." A familiar voice said.

I wiped my mouth and looked up.

On the nearby tree branch stood Yoru no Shedo.

She was a little bit bigger than she was before, but her features had already developed much quicker than I thought.

"You're pitiful." She said, ruffling and straightening out her feathers.

"Yoru no Shedo, where am I?" I asked sternly.

"You are in the domain where I reside when I am not summoned by you. And by the looks of it, I never will be summoned by you since you're this weak." She said as she just looked at me, taking in my appearance.

"We'll see about that." I replied.

"How can I leave this place? I've turned into a Hollow and am wreaking havoc on the outside world, and if it continues I _and_ you, will be killed by the Shinigami."

A voice suddenly interrupted our conversation.

" _ **What is this?"**_

Oh no.

Please, not him.

I looked back into the reservoir.

There stood Toushirou, looking at my Hollow form.

I rose my Hollow hand, and a bright red light began to glow.

"No!" I screamed.


	16. Chapter 16

I was drowning.

Yoru no Shedo flew into me, and held my head under the still water I was previously staring into.

What the Hell was she thinking?

My hand holding me up finally slipped in the mud, and I lost my balance and completely plunged in. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them, I was in a different place.

Toushirou stood in front of me in a way I'd never seen him before—he had ice wings protruding from his back and covering his shoulders, and his hands and feet taken over with ice claws. His Zanpakuto was out and ready in his hand to deal a finishing blow. I had the Cero I saw earlier forming in my right hand, and immediately launched it upward into the sky just in time.

I could feel the arm that had a chunk taken out of it by the Arrancar girl's Cero throbbing immensely, but I had to ignore it. I stuck up my hands—or clawed hands specifically—up in a white-flag signal.

Toushirou blinked in what looked like confusion.

"Why would you waste a Cero…and what did that to your arm?" He asked himself.

My signal had no effect.

"Toushirou! Please! Listen to me!" I tried to say, but it came out distorted as a Hollow roar rather than actual words.

Trying to talk to him was useless—I had to run. I used my increased powers to flash-step away.

" _How the Hell am I supposed to change back?"_ I asked in mental panic.

I kept flash-stepping as fast as I could. I could feel Toushirou right behind me, gradually getting closer and closer with each step. I turned the corner of a building, and climbed up the side of it to the roof.

" _Think, Azumi, think!"_ I mentally shouted at myself.

I couldn't do this much longer; my wound was really taking it's toll. Urahara said that the only way for me to turn back to normal was to feed. So if I could find another Hollow, then I could change back.

Great.

But how does that get Toushirou off my back?

"This is the end of the line!"

Toushirou appeared in front of me and slashed at my left arm.

I poured my reiatsu into it and luckily was able to block it. His blade sliced into me, and got stuck in my arm.

I screamed—or roared—in response.

Before pushing him off, I noticed that he was bloody and injured more so than I was. I needed to be careful not to injure him too much more; this had to stop. I shoved him back, and he flew onto the rooftop of the next building.

Suddenly, I heard a group of Hollows roaring nearby.

Perfect.

I flash-stepped toward the direction of the noise.

I heard a dragon-like roar and glanced behind me. Toushirou sent a dragon made of ice at me and it was coming up quick. I turned around and launched a small Cero at it in defense, and it shattered the dragon completely. Toushirou had easily dodged it, still flying toward me with those ice wings of his.

Finally, down below in the park were a group of Hollows—5 to be precise.

Toushirou followed closely behind me as I crashed onto the ground in front of the Hollows. Immediately, one of them attacked him. I took the opportunity to grab the smallest and stabbed it with my claws. It screeched in pain, and I quickly flash-stepped away with it out of the park.

I successfully was able to get a few streets away from the park with the Hollow. Immediately, I slammed it to the ground and bit the side of its neck. It screeched again, but I ignored it. I sucked out the reiatsu from the Hollow like a leech sucking the blood out of a human.

This was probably one of the best experiences I had ever had in my entire life.

Given, it was really odd and animalistic and disgusting, but the amount of endorphins and other things that now ran through me was absolutely intoxicating. I felt a range of satisfied emotions; excited, happy, ecstatic, beaming, and absolutely content. I didn't want the feeling to go away—how I did this subconsciously before made complete sense. At that moment, I was so beyond happy that I experienced this consciously.

The Hollow soon enough disintegrated, and I stood there, lost in Euphoria. Slowly, my Hierro started cracking off me and fell in pieces onto the ground. I felt the mask covering my face and took it off.

It was…creepy to say the least.

The cheek bones stuck out, and then receded inwardly down to the chin. The top of it almost looked like ears, except they were rounded off toward the top. From the left 'ear,' there were two dark purple 'V'-like stripes that went down toward the middle of the mask. The right eye hole was outlined in dark purple that followed the outline of the hole completely. The two eye holes were almost diamond shaped, and made the mask look sort of angry and menacing. It had sharpened teeth that started on both sides of the mask rather than starting just somewhere in the middle.

At least now I knew what I looked like.

I looked up at the half moon in the sky, and thanked the Lord that the feeling I just experienced was toward a Hollow rather than a human.

I realized just how twisted of a person I really was—it was sickening. The only thing that made me snap out of emotionally beating myself up, was the thought that maybe if I could control my Hollow and Bounto tendencies, that I could also control my feelings when I fed. Maybe I could make myself crave it less.

Finally, the last piece of Hierro fell to the ground and started disintegrating with the rest of it. I was human-like again.

I looked at my arm and almost passed out just from the sight; my right arm had a huge hole in it right near my elbow. Like someone used a circle cookie cutter and took out half of it. Toushirou's cut was right above my wrist on my opposite arm, and it was just oozing blood. I could feel myself losing consciousness; now that the feeding high was gone, all that was left was the indescribable pain radiating from my arm.

"Takashita!"

Toushirou suddenly appeared in front of me, and rushed at me in a panic. He picked me up as delicately and quickly as he could and cradled me in his arms as he started flash-stepping.

"Who did this to you?" He asked furiously; his eyes full of hate and anger and guilt.

"I'll kill him, I swear it!"

I looked at the huge slash in his chest—taking in the sweet smell of his blood—and cringed my eyes shut to shut out the lustful thoughts. I looked back up at him, and placed my good hand along his cheek. He looked down at me for a moment, eyes slightly glossy and teeth clenched.

I smiled and just looked at him. I caressed his face lightly; loving the sensation of his skin in my palm.

"You came back to me alive, Toushirou; nothing else matters."

As soon as I finished the sentence I passed out.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

She passed out on me.

This wasn't good at all.

She didn't even realize just how bad her wounds really were; t was like her arm was dangling by a thread, but she just stood there like nothing had happened. Adrenaline must have been the culprit.

My ear piece went off; it was Matsumoto.

" _ **Taichou, we're almost finished here. We're making sure the location is secure. Ikkaku is badly injured. Is Azumi-chan safe?"**_ She reported.

"Takashita is injured, and I'm on my way to Inoue's; meet us there." I ordered.

" _ **Hai, Taichou!"**_ She responded.

I'm glad that the others survived; that was a good sign.

I finally got to Inoue's house and knocked on the door, shouting for her to wake up.

"Inoue! It's Hitsugaya Toushirou; it's urgent, open the door!"

I heard scrambling, and then a half-asleep but urgent Inoue Orihime opened the door. She gasped at all the blood and hurried us in. She grabbed some towels and I put Takashita down on top of them on the floor.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou-san, your injuries are worse than Azumi-chan's, I need to heal you first," she said, raising a hand to inspect me.

"I'll be fine; heal Takashita first." I pressed.

With a moments hesitation, she agreed and started healing Takashita with her abilities.

I stood there, staring at Takashita.

I had been too naïve; I should have had Madarame or Ayesegawa stay with her. It was all my fault she was injured because I left her alone—it was such a poor decision.

" **You shouldn't blame yourself; you cannot be in two places at once, Master."** Hyourinmaru chimed in.

He was right, but it didn't make me feel any less guilty.

"Aizen," I breathed out angrily.

I didn't realize I was clenching my fists until that moment. First Hinamori, and now Takashita; it was like he was trying to get _at me_ specifically. What could he possibly want with Takashita? She doesn't have any special abilities that we know of, but to actually go through with sending out disposable decoys to distract us…what the Hell could he be after?

Her stab wound on her abdomen from before flashed through my mind. That wound she came home with from her training wasn't a 'sword wound' like she claimed—it was a smaller knife. I hadn't said anything and decided to let it go, but I couldn't shake the fact that it bothered me. Of anyone, I know a sword wound when I see one.

Could she be lying about her training at Urahara's?

She's lied to me several times already, could she be hiding something else even still?

Urahara seemed too fidgety lately as well, almost like he was trying to hide something. Could it be that…

"W-Where am I?"

I looked up and saw that Takashita was wide awake, glancing around the room, panicked.

I bent down to her level and pushed her to lay back down gently. "We're at Inoue's; just relax and let her heal you," I told her softly.

She and I both looked at her arm. It was mostly already healed, but there was still a wound just above her wrist.

A sword wound.

I stared at the cut, and was instantly reminded of that odd Hollow I was chasing before I found Takashita. I was following Takashita's reiatsu trail and bumped into the Hollow; it was different from any other Hollow I'd encountered, and left me baffled.

She sat up and told Inoue to stop healing her.

"What are you doing? You're not done healing yet," I started to say.

She interrupted, "It's fine, that will do for now. You need some serious attention, Toushirou. Orihime, please focus on him now. I'll finish healing later."

She got up, wincing as she used her injured arm to prop herself up. She walked over to the corner of the room and got a chair. She had trouble lifting it, but she managed to push it toward me.

"Sit down at least, Toushirou." She put her hands on my shoulders and gently pushed me down onto the chair. She stared at my wounds, and I could tell she was trying not to cry.

"I-I have to get some air. Thank you Orihime, and thank you for finding me, Toushirou." She slightly bowed, quickly glanced at me, and walked out the door.

Her eyes…were they red?

I must've been more delusional than I thought.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

"Damn it," I breathed out.

I just fed earlier tonight, less than an hour ago. Why the Hell did I still feel like this?

I slapped myself in the face with my good hand, the sting dwelling for a few seconds. All of this was completely my fault. The reason Toushirou was in there wounded that freaking badly was all because that bastard Aizen was after me.

And now I'm supposed to reproduce with this 'Hajime' person? Was that Aizen's goal now since my mother escaped? Who the Hell was this guy, and why the Hell does that damn Arrancar girl keep acting like I'm best friends with the guy!

It felt like I cried a lot lately; I hated this. I _swore_ to never cry again—to keep my emotions in check and not let them bother me or anyone else. This was ridiculous. Here I am, crying almost every single day—when did I turn into such a weakly framed person?

I looked up at the moon again, like it would give me all the solutions to my problems. Yeah, right.

It had been a few minutes, and Orihime came out to her front porch.

"Azumi-chan," she called.

Part of her hairpins were still missing; I assumed they were still trying to heal Toushirou.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou-san wants you to come in now—he wants to talk to you." She lightly placed her hand over mine in a comforting effort; I placed my other hand on top of hers.

"Okay, Orihime, thanks again." I lightly smiled at her, making sure to avoid eye contact.

She turned around and went back inside with me following behind her.

Before anyone could even say anything, I immediately announced that I had to use the restroom and scurried over to it. I had to make sure my eyes were back to orange at the very least before daring to have a conversation with anyone.

I locked the door and turned on the light. They were still on the reddish-side, but slowly they started to turn back to their usual brown hue. The only problem was it was taking far too long; the smell of blood lingering in the air wasn't helping either.

I rummaged Orihime's cabinets until I finally found some minty mouthwash—thank the Lord. I rinsed my mouth for 120 seconds—as the bottle suggested—with it before spitting it out. Then I took a long, deep inhale of the stuff to really try to get the smell of blood out of my senses.

It was working, my eyes were a medium orange now, and it hopefully would only be moments before they would be back to normal. I put the mouthwash back and quickly splashed some water on my face. I dried off and opened the door. I walked over to Toushirou and sat down on the ground in front of him.

I inspected him for a moment; his wound had closed, but his clothes still had dried blood all over them. I focused on his face instead. He looked _beyond_ tired, but he held up a pretty impressive façade. He was staring intensely at me—making direct eye contact—and I tried to not look like a puppy with its tail between its legs.

"Tell me what happened, Takashita; don't leave anything out." He ordered.

Well shit.

"Well Toushirou, you're gonna be mad…I left the house." I attempted a little light comedy.

It didn't work at all.

I put my head down and stared at the wound above my wrist.

"I heard screaming," I began.

"There was a little ghost girl being chased by a Hollow on the front lawn of our house. You guys were all too busy dealing with the Espada, so I decided that I was the only option." I peeked up at him—his eyes were still intensely focused on me.

I looked back down and continued.

"I chased after them, and finally caught up to them. I managed to defeat the Hollow trying to devour her, but then more Hollows came, and they ended up killing her."

And cue the tears.

"I tried so hard to save her, and she ended up dying anyway." I choked out a few sobs and clenched my hands into fists.

I took a moment to compose myself, then continued.

"Anyway, they chased me and then this huge one came out of nowhere, fired a Cero at the other Hollow, and I got caught in the cross fire." I concluded, not looking up at him.

"That's all that happened?" He asked.

"Yes." I replied.

He didn't say anything for a moment, and each painful second felt like a thousand years.

"And the sword wound on your wrist?"

I gulped and mentally cursed myself.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door.

"Orihime! Please open up! We need your help!"

It was Rangiku.

Oh thank God.

I sprang up and winced in pain, letting out an audible shriek as I ran over and opened the door for them.

Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichicka all rushed in, Ikkaku looking like he was in critical condition. I helped Orihime get more towels and amidst all of that, Toushirou called out to me in front of everyone.

"Answer the question, Takashita." He ordered with frustration clear in his tone.

All heads besides Ikkaku—who was on the verge of passing out—snapped in his direction.

"I need to talk to you privately." I urged.

"Orihime, can we use your room please?" I asked.

She nodded and started healing Ikkaku. Toushirou was able to stand, and walked over with me to Orihime's room. I closed the door and I could hear him folding his arms.

I turned and stared at him for a moment, mentally putting my big-girl pants on, and said what only made sense.

"Toushirou, for your safety as well as everyone else's, I can't tell you what happened." I stated after taking a deep breath.

"Takashita," he began.

"Who's the one telling you to keep this a secret?"

"I can't tell you. I don't even know what their name is." I quickly replied.

"All that you need to know, is that I am not—nor ever will be—in league with Aizen. Everything I do is for you and the others. If I can keep you all safe, then—"

"Is what happened tonight considered 'keeping us safe' to you?" He completely cut in.

His voice wasn't loud, it was level and stern but with a bitter after-bite. The voice of a Taichou taking authority of a subordinate.

"By you keeping secrets, everyone out there will be in danger, and it could eventually lead to their deaths." He took a step closer.

"By not telling me what happened and consistently _lying to me_ shows that you cannot trust me, or any of the others for that matter. It is our job to keep you safe and alive, Takashita. You risk your own life as well as ours when you keep things to yourself." He was directly in front of me now, and I cowered under his gaze.

"Aren't you close to Matsumoto? How could you not trust her to help you? Even when I told her not to talk to you in the very beginning because of our mission, she still wanted to be considered your friend; she wanted to make you happy and to be there for you. Yet you stand here and risk her life by not telling her the truth; you risk her, and all of the others lives for that matter. They all care about you— _I_ care about you—and I want to keep you alive and well Takashita, I am your friend and ally."

"B-But I am alive,"

He grabbed my injured arm and held it up in front of me. "Okay, then does this look well to you?"

I clenched my teeth trying to hold back my emotions, and failed miserably. He was trying to be civil, but I could feel and hear the anger tinged in each word. How could I blame him?

"She told me she'd kill you, and the others if I said anything, Toushirou! She's watching every move I make—what am I supposed to do?" I stammered out with a choked breath.

There I go again with the tears. I stopped talking, trying to be as quiet as possible, I didn't want the others to hear me.

Toushirou let go of my arm and wiped the tears from my face. Then he gently pulled my head up so I could look at him. His expression softened as he stared straight into my eyes.

"Who said that to you?" He asked again.

I looked away.

"Don't be afraid, Azumi, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or anyone else—I promise. I'm your friend, remember?"

Did he just call me by my first name?

He released my chin, and held his pinky up—I couldn't help but crack a small smile as I took it. We shook on it, and I began to tell only pieces of the story.

"I don't know her name, but this is the second time she's attacked me. She is an Arrancar; I don't know if she is part of the Espada, but she looks like she could be. The first time she came to warn me about someone she called 'Hajime-sama,' and then tonight she tried to abduct me." I paused to take a breath before continuing.

"She seems jealous of me; she keeps saying I don't deserve 'Hajime-Sama,' and that she wasn't going to let me have him. And also, she told me that…" I turned and looked away.

The next part was too embarrassing and I myself didn't really even know how to feel about it.

He turned my face again with his warm hand to look at him.

"Told you what?" He asked.

Although my face was still aimed at his, I looked away with my eyes.

"Told me that, Aizen wants that Hajime guy to reproduce with me." I said.

I peeked up into his eyes as soon as I finished. Some emotion I couldn't describe flashed through them, and he looked downward toward my neck for a few moments, processing the information.

"I don't know who that guy is, and I've never met him. She keeps saying things implying that I've been in his presence and that I'm around him frequently. But I've never met anyone in my entire life that goes by that name." I sniffled a little bit; happy the tears stopped—I was so sick and tired of crying like a baby all the time.

"Is the story you told me earlier true in any way?" he asked.

"Yes it is—partially. I did find a girl, and I did rescue her from a Hollow; shortly after however, the Arrancar girl appeared and killed the little girl. I tried to fight her, and that's how my arm got injured." I responded.

"And how did you get away?" He asked.

I paused and looked away from him.

"Toushirou…I...can't tell you that—not yet." I responded barely above a whisper.

"Remember what I said—"

"I know what you said," I cut him off and paused, staring at him.

"I just…" I looked away again.

I didn't want things to change between us—I wasn't ready for that. I wanted to hold on just a little bit longer—that's all I wanted before possibly being executed.

"Just give me one day, then I'll tell you everything. I need just one last normal day, like nothing has happened. Everything will change and get worse than they already have once you know. _Please?_ " I asked.

I looked into his eyes and knew he wanted to say no. I tried to convince him more.

"I'm not asking you as a Taichou, I'm asking you as my friend you claim to be. I just want one more normal day with you and Rangiku, and then I swear I will tell you and the others everything. You're right Toushirou; you deserve to know. I'm not hiding it this time because some Arrancar threatened me, I'm hiding it because I'm not ready to tell you yet. No more lying and no more excuses; I will tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I just need one last day…I'm not ready for things to change, _please_."

He stared at me for a long moment, most likely trying to pick apart my words. It really seemed like he knew that I was right; that what I was going to tell him was going to change everything.

He exhaled loudly and picked up my injured arm with one hand, the hovered his other hand over the cut on my wrist, performing a healing kido.

"I'll say that you need rest and can't answer any questions to the Soutaichou. On Saturday, you will tell me everything first, and then we'll report it together to the Soutaichou and the others. However," he looked up at me.

"You are not to leave my sight until then. Understood?"

Words could not describe just how happy I was in that moment. I held up my pinky, and shook it with his. I put my hand on his shoulder, gazing into those teal eyes that I desperately wanted to get lost in.

"Thank you," I leaned into him, putting my head into the crease of his neck and gripping his shirt tightly to try to calm my breathing.

He put his hand on the small of my back and pulled me closer. He put a hand on the back of my head and held me against him.

He took a deep breath, and exhaled.


	17. Chapter 17

I awoke with a jolt; something that happened too often for my liking.

"What?" Toushirou said urgently, jolting up alongside me.

"Nothing; I'm sorry, Toushirou. Go back to sleep." I cooed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

His tension eased and he let out the breath he seemed to be holding.

"It's all right, I should be getting up anyway." He said as he uncovered himself and got up.

He stretched for a moment like he always did, then made his way around the bed and started heading up the stairs.

"I wish last night really was a nightmare," I whispered to myself, rubbing my face.

After our conversation last night, Toushirou healed up with Orihime a bit more, and when we made sure the others were okay we headed home. Orihime had tried to get me to stay to heal my wrist, but she was so overworked already that I wanted to give her a break. The wound was closed, but it looked like a chunk of skin was missing. If there was ever a cool battle scar, this was it. Granted, it still hurt like a mother-trucker, but at the very least it was almost healed.

The main thing though, was that Toushirou didn't say anything about what I told him to the others. They had asked questions and Toushirou responded that he wasn't sure. It was partially true—he wasn't sure about some things, but not all. All he told them was that he'd get back to them when he figured things out.

I owed him so much.

I cracked a small smile; my crush just kept getting stronger and stronger each day—how bittersweet.

I decided to get up as well. School was closed today for all seniors due to the preparation for the big event this evening, so at least I didn't have to worry about my classes. I still needed a dress though, and Toushirou still needed a suit. I blushed just thinking about it; I hadn't even had the chance to tell Rangiku that Toushirou and I are even going to Prom. She was going to have a field day with this one, that was for sure.

I walked upstairs into my parents room and hopped in the shower. Last night we all had just gone to sleep immediately. It was so late when we got in and we were all beyond exhausted. In the middle of my shower, I heard a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I called.

"Nothing, just making sure it was you." Toushirou responded.

"Okay! Be out soon!"

Well someone was taking this 'in my sight' business seriously. I shook my head while I carefully washed my wrist. It was still so tender that I couldn't really scrub it, and it irritated me that this shower was taking longer than usual.

I got out, combed out and dried my hair, then applied my makeup for the day. When I finished and opened the door, Toushirou was sitting on the floor against the wall. I jumped back slightly—I didn't expect him to take it _that_ seriously.

"Can I help you?" I asked letting out a chuckle.

"No." He responded, beeping away on his phone.

"You're really doing this, aren't you?" I asked.

"That was the agreement, Takashita." He responded, snapping his phone shut and looking up at me.

"I know, I know, I just didn't think that you'd go as far as waiting for me outside the bathroom." I teased.

"Well now you know," he huffed, getting up.

I shook my head and chuckled again.

"So, are we still going to the Prom tonight?" I asked.

"Today is your day, so if that's what you'd like to do, then that's what we're going to do." He replied casually.

"Well hot-dog!" I replied, smiling with sarcasm.

I turned and started walking down the stairs.

"So for the dance tonight—like we talked about before—it's formal. Which means that we have to go out and get a suit and a dress, because neither of us have any." I said.

"So what you're implying is,"

"That we have to go shopping." I finished for him.

"Did someone say 'shopping?'" Rangiku came out of my—er, now—her room.

I laughed.

"Someone's ears must've been ringing!" I grinned.

That's the Rangiku I've missed; so cheery and happy, not to mention obsessed with anything female-related.

"Toushirou is taking me to Prom tonight, but we don't have anything formal. Would you like to come with us to pick something out?" I asked.

"Y-You what!" Rangiku was on fire now.

"Taichou! You're taking Azumi-chan to the dance? Why didn't you tell me? This is wonderful news!" She laughed and head locked the poor boy in a hug.

"Yes, I'm taking her; now get off me!" He said, scraping Rangiku off.

There's the Toushirou I knew.

"Ooooh this is _sooo_ romantic! I am _too_ excited!" She said gleaming.

"H-Hey! Who said anything about it being romantic?" I squeaked back.

Oh who the Hell was I trying to kid? I definitely considered it romantic as hell.

"I'm going to go get ready real quick; I'll meet you guys downstairs!" She went back into the room and slammed the door behind her.

Toushirou huffed, and I giggled. We walked downstairs into the kitchen, and he made his usual cup of tea while I grabbed some cereal. Truthfully, I really was excited for today. As selfish as it all was, if this was a last request, then I was going to make the best of it.

I sat down at the table with Toushirou and ate my cereal. He was checking his phone for Hollows again, leaning back into the chair as he beeped away.

"Ya know, you should probably eat something—you're going to have a long day." I smirked.

He took another sip of tea. "No, I'll be all right." He said, not looking away from his phone.

"Nonsense, Toushirou! A growing boy's gotta eat!" I snickered, getting up.

His eye twitched and I laughed. Hopefully I could use my normal sarcastic comical routine to get him in a better mood. I grabbed the cereal box and opened the fridge.

"I'll get you some cere-ahhh!" I grabbed the milk with my weak wrist forgetting that I was even injured—like the spaz I am—and dropped it.

It banged loudly on the floor, and thankfully didn't spill all over the place. It weighed far too much still, and my wrist was so damn tender.

"What happened?" Toushirou's head snapped in my direction upon my outburst.

"I picked up the milk gallon with my bad wrist like the baka I am; a stupid move—I know. But hey, no use crying over spilt milk." I weakly laughed it off, holding my wrist in pain.

"Well you're right about one thing," he started sarcastically.

He got up, picked up the milk on the floor and put it back in the refrigerator.

"You _are_ a baka," He smirked, I rolled my eyes.

"Go sit back at the table," he said.

I huffed and complied. He pulled up his chair next to mine and held my wrist in his hand over his knee. He focused and started performing a helping kido on my wrist again.

"It won't completely heal it, but it should help at least a little. Unless you get Inoue to completely heal it, it's still going to look like this." He said.

"I know; thanks again, Toushirou,"

"Not a problem. After this I have to go report to the Soutaichou. I need you to stay out here and stay quiet please." He informed.

"You got it. But don't think you're getting away from this whole breakfast ordeal." I smirked; he just sighed.

A few more minutes passed, and Rangiku came down dressed very stylishly and looking just as beautiful as ever.

"I'm ready to go! And boy, have I got a lot planned out!" She grinned.

"Glad to hear it!" I replied.

Her enthusiasm was exactly what I needed. Just her being herself was making my mood brighten with each passing minute.

Toushirou stopped healing me and put his hand over the wounded area for a minute in thought. He didn't look at me, he just stared at the spot. He placed my arm back in my lap and stood up.

"Ready, Matsumoto? Let me do the talking to the Soutaichou; just agree with what I say."

"Hai, Taichou." She stopped and said seriously.

They both turned around and headed toward the garage, Toushirou walking in front of Rangiku. I started eating my cereal.

Honestly, their relationship was a really good one that I admired. When Toushirou was serious, she was serious. But then when serious things weren't going on, Rangiku would ease the mood and help him calm down with her antics. I envied their relationship; I wanted to have a relationship with both of them like that—oh well.

The conversation with the Soutaichou took about 20 minutes, and the whole time I was on edge. I just sat on the couch, listening to music on my music player nearly the whole time, searching on the Internet for any information about Bounto I could find.

I called Urahara and let him know I wasn't going to training today. Renji already told him what happened and so Urahara already figured I wouldn't go by today. He did ask me what the status with my secret was, and I told him my agreement with Toushirou. He said to come by on Saturday before I tell Toushirou, that way we could get the Yoru no Shedo thing under control before she comes out at the wrong time. I agreed and arranged to be there at 6 a.m.

Toushirou and Rangiku came out of the garage, and I immediately sprang up from my seat. I looked at Toushirou.

"He bought it for now, but he's skeptical about it." He told me.

"Thanks, Toushirou." I let out the breath I'd been holding.

Rangiku walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know what's going on, Azumi-chan, but Taichou and I are here for you, and are on your side."

" _For now,"_ I wanted to say.

"Thanks, Rangiku, I know you guys are, and I appreciate all the help you've given me." I smiled at her.

"You ready to go?"

"Absolutely!" She cheered.

We grabbed our stuff and locked up the house. As we walked down the sidewalk, Rangiku started telling us her plan for the day.

"So, I saw some shops across town the other day when I was out patrolling that look like they have some nice stuff! There's also a suit shop over there for Taichou that I saw. Azumi-chan, what other makeup do you have besides eyeliner? Do you have any eye shadow or lipstick? I'm doing your hair and your makeup. Taichou won't even know what hit him when I'm done with you!" She elbowed him; he managed a glare while I laughed.

We got on the bus and rode to the other side of town. Rangiku and Toushirou had never been on a bus before, and Rangiku was borderline freaking out—it was hilarious. They were so used to just flash-stepping everywhere that the concept of being in a vehicle seemed crazy.

"Does the Soul Society have cars?" I asked.

"Nope! The Soul Society could be compared to old world Japan. There's carriages, but nothing mechanical like this. But now I wish there were!" She pouted.

"Wow, I've always admired old world Japan…that's awesome! I wish you had a picture to show me," I smiled.

"Oh, you'll see it one day, Azumi-chan. Don't you worry!" Rangiku winked.

I tried to not let my face drop.

"I suppose so," was all I replied.

Soon enough we got off the bus and to the shopping plaza Rangiku talked about. I actually had never been to this part of town before, so all of this was just as new to me as it was to them. As we walked, Rangiku talked more and more about Prom. She wanted to escort us there at the very least to get a sneak peek at the set up. She kind of reminded me of a mom overly excited for her daughter. It was really comforting to say the least.

"Azumi-chan, did you have a color in mind for your dress? You both have to match by the way; I heard that for this event you have to match your _date_ ," she snickered, passing Toushirou a side glance.

"Well, I would want something Toushirou wouldn't be ashamed to be seen in. What do you think, Toushirou?" I asked.

"Whatever you want; it doesn't matter to me." He responded.

"Oh, so if I wanted to go in purple—my favorite color—you wouldn't be embarrassed?" I replied.

He didn't say anything; I laughed in response.

"Don't worry, we'll look around," I poked him. "Loosen up, ya big stick in the mud!" I grinned.

He passed me the sarcastic side-glance he always used to do—he was finally starting to loosen up, that was a good sign.

We went into a couple stores and Rangiku made me try on about a billion different dresses. Toushirou waited in the seating area of the store most of the time, Rangiku wouldn't let him see me in anything because she wanted it to be a surprise. He'd peek over from time to time as part of our 'agreement' but for the most part he was being a typical guy that didn't care for shopping.

"What do you think about this one?" I asked Rangiku in the changing room.

I twirled around slowly in front of the mirror, inspecting it myself as she did.

"Do you like it, Azumi-chan?" She asked.

I gave it another look.

"You know, I do. I feel like the cut is just right and the color is growing on me the longer I'm in it." I paused.

"Actually, I really do like it. If you think this will look good, then I'm good with it." I smiled at her.

"That's exactly what I wanted you to say! I was afraid that maybe it was too feminine and you wouldn't like it, but I think it looks great! All we need is a push up bra for the goods, and some black flats, then boom—K.O.!" She giggled and snapped a photo of me on her phone.

I blushed pretty hard.

"What's that supposed to mean, Rangiku? And why'd you take a picture of me?" I asked with an uncontrollable higher tone; she laughed.

"First of all, I took the picture so that I can match Taichou with a suit _and_ because your reaction was priceless. Secondly, it means you have got to learn how to flatter your feminine features! You're a beautiful young woman, and it's about time you started emphasizing your physique!" She said matter-of-factly.

"Okay yeah I get it, but it seems like you want me to do that more in front of a certain white-haired individual than in general!" I pointed out.

"Well now that you mention it," she laughed again.

"Rangiku!" I went back into the changing room to take off the dress.

A few moments passed by and the laughing had stopped.

"Hey Rangiku," I started.

"Yes, dearest?"

It took me another moment before I continued.

"How do you think Toushirou feels about me in general?"

Luckily I was in the changing room. It was too embarrassing of a question to ask face-to-face.

"To be honest with you, I've known the Taichou for a very long time, and I've never seen him act the way he does with you." She paused to see if I'd say something and when I didn't, so she continued.

"The conversation he had with the Soutaichou—he wouldn't have done that for anyone else, not even Hinamori. Whatever is happening with this whole situation seems to be very serious; the fact that he's gone out of his way to not be truthful no matter what the consequences says a lot, Azumi-chan. You should consider yourself very lucky." She said.

I came out of the fitting room at that moment, and she continued before we left the room.

"The closest person to him has always been Hinamori, and at one point, he had to arrest her. It must have really been hard, but he had to do it. But the fact that there's something going on and he hasn't taken action as a Taichou…means he must care deeply for you, even more so than Hinamori—who was the one that found him as a child. Personally, Azumi-chan, I think he likes you more than a friend, but I don't think he realizes it." She concluded.

Rangiku's words made butterflies erupt in my stomach, but they also made me feel slightly guilty. I was thrilled at the thought that he possibly liked me too, but I didn't really do anything to deserve it.

I'm just a regular—well, _abnormal_ technically—person; not at all as significant as this Hinamori friend of his. I decided to push away the guilty feelings and let the butterflies take over. This _could_ be my last day of freewill and/or life—I wasn't about to let myself be panged with any uncomfortable emotions. Today was about enjoying myself, and that's what I was gonna do.

"Thanks, Rangiku, I really wanted to know your opinion." I smiled and started walking toward the exit.

"And how long have you had a crush on him?" Rangiku asked, completely stopping me in my tracks.

"Uh…"

"Oh please, don't act like I'm not right, Azumi-chan. I know a crush when I see one." She smirked.

I exhaled loudly. "…Am I that obvious?" I managed to squeak out.

"Only to me because I know you and can read you like a book." She laughed and put a hand on my shoulder; I involuntarily shivered.

"But let's save girl talk for later! We still have a lot to do!"

We bought the dress and then went to the suit shop Rangiku talked about. Let's just say Toushirou wasn't _thrilled;_ it was actually pretty hysterical. My dress was a deep forest green color, and Rangiku matched his suit with hardly any problems.

"Okay Taichou, try this on to make sure it fits!" She handed Toushirou the outfit and he went over to the fitting room to try it on.

"You'd better come out and show me when it's on! Azumi-chan won't look, I promise!" She hollered giggling.

She looked over at me and squinted her eyes at me.

"Go sit over there for a bit." She pointed.

I obliged without protest; we walked soooooo much that I definitely needed to sit.

A few minutes had passed with Rangiku 'ooh'ing and 'aw'ing at Toushirou in his suit. I tried to sneak a peak and was immediately caught by Rangiku, who told me to turn around or else. Finally, after about 20 more minutes of Rangiku making decisions, she picked out the right suit and we left the store.

I'd realized it was around noon, and my stomach was starting to growl. We ended up finding a Shabu Shabu place for lunch, and I for one ate to my heart's content; I loved Shabu Shabu almost as much as I loved Italian. Luckily Toushirou and Rangiku already had it before, so it wasn't a huge mystery to them. It was kind of a let down because it's funny to see them completely boggled at something new, but at least we all ate something we liked.

I poked jokes at the two of them here and there, and it started to seem like Toushirou was lightening up. He had seemed stiff all day—given he had good reason to be—and all I wanted was the flustered, annoyed boy I used to tease and toss around sarcastic jokes with. As we ate our meal he'd come up with his usual witty comebacks to my antics and seemed to be having a good time, which made me have an even better time.

-[×]-

We finished up with lunch just after 1 p.m. and finished getting the rest of the shopping done as Rangiku told us her next plan.

"I saw this other place that looks really interesting—it's the last thing we should do before going home to get ready for Prom. It's got all these weird-looking contraptions that are colorful and look kind of dangerous at the same time, but they also look like so much fun!" She explained excitedly.

Toushirou and I looked at each other, not sure what she would classify as 'interesting and dangerous.'

"Okay Rangiku, let's do it!" I smiled at her.

"Woohoo! It's just a few streets down; this way!" She turned and started walking.

Luckily, we didn't have too many shopping bags and were able to fit all of our stuff in two bags. We followed her down a couple of shopping blocks, and arrived at our destination—everything she said then made complete sense.

If I were sitting, I would've jumped out of my seat.

"See! Doesn't this look fun and dangerous at the same time?" Rangiku pointed.

"What are all of those?" Toushirou asked.

"It's a carnival!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"I haven't been to one since I was a kid in America! This is too exciting! Hurry let's go!" I grabbed both of their hands and stormed right in.

Taking a look around, we saw that there was a Ferris wheel, some small roller-coasters, bumper cars, games, and a whole lot of people and food. Rangiku was just as excited as I was while Toushirou questioned everything we passed like a paranoid adult.

"Let's go on the bumper cars!" I prompted, running up to the line.

"That doesn't look safe at all, Takashita." Toushirou said, pointing up at the electric current on the ceiling of the bumper cars.

"Oh hush, it'll be fine—trust me! I've done this before!" I smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as I pulled him and Rangiku into the arena.

"What do we do?" Rangiku said rushing.

"Get in one of the cars, put the seat belt on, press the gas pedal on the floor with your foot to go, use the steering wheel to drive, and bump the Hell out of everyone!" I explained ecstatically, jumping into one of the red cars.

Rangiku and Toushirou stared at each other for a minute in confusion, then the ride operator told them to get in their cars and they both immediately jumped in. Toushirou had a blue car and Rangiku had a yellow one.

"On your mark, get set, go!" They announced.

Oh, it was on.

I immediately drove a little ways away from Toushirou and Rangiku while they were still trying to figure out just how much gas to use.

"I'm coming for you, Toushirou!" I shouted.

He stared at me wide-eyed as I floored it toward him.

"Hey! Wait a min—"

I slammed into him and pushed him back a few feet, laughing like a mad woman while I did.

"Teme!" Toushirou yelled at me.

Rangiku couldn't control her laughter, and I took the opportunity to slam into her.

"Azumi-chan!" She shouted in between laughs.

"You'll never catch me!" I shouted dramatically, driving off and cackling.

Toushirou figured out how to use the car and started chasing after me with Rangiku close behind.

Some kid came at me from the right and bumped me to the side, somewhat saving me from Toushirou's rebuttal. Rangiku proceeded to slam into him and he jolted forward from it.

"Got you, Taichou!" She laughed loudly.

"Matsumoto," he started, but then I came in for the kill before he could finish; he jolted to the right.

"10 points!" I shouted, high-fiving Rangiku.

If glares could kill, Rangiku and I would've dropped dead from Toushirou's.

I pulled away and drove off, then Toushirou chased after me into a corner. He finally came at me full speed, and smirked in celebration of his revenge.

"Oh look who thinks he's all high and mighty! Like he's the top gun around here!" I challenged.

"It's about time you understood that," he teased, that stupid seductive smirk of his still plastered on his face.

The ride stopped and the cars all turned off.

"No, no, no, you completely missed the sarcasm. You are _not_ the top gun, and you are _not_ all high and mighty, and I'll prove it by completely whooping you at every game we play!" I stated, flustered.

He got out of his car and walked over to mine.

"We'll see about that," he replied coolly, outstretching a hand to help me out of the car.

Even though I took his hand for him to help me out, I didn't lift my feet high enough and tripped; making me fall forward. My face flew right into his chest in the fall, and you could hear Rangiku giggling in the background.

He gently helped me up.

"It never ceases to amaze me just how clumsy you really are; _I even helped you up,_ " He chuckled, a light smile playing on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Toushirou; not everyone is as coordinated as you!" I stuck out my tongue at him and pulled my hand back.

"Although I'm going to bet that you, the mighty _Shirou-chan_ isn't coordinated enough to beat me at the carnival games!" I laughed and quickly walked off.

Rangiku was struggling to walk with that last comment I dished out.

"Don't ever call me that! That's _Hitsugaya-Taichou_ to you!" he yelled at me, following me out of the bumper car arena.

The three of us walked over to the carnival games next and watched people play for a bit. Rangiku would ask questions about each game and how to win, and wanted to test her luck at every single one of them—which she did.

There were a couple games where Toushirou and I competed—like the balloon-dart game, the water-shooter game, and the ring-toss game—all of which Toushirou pretty much won. Rangiku thought all of the prizes were adorable, and so whenever Toushirou or I won, we'd give her the prizes. She looked like such a kid in a candy shop, and I'm not even ashamed to say that I practically looked the same.

As we walked more, we came upon a game that had _the_ cutest prize of all the games I'd seen.

It was a medium-sized, cartoonish-looking black cat with green eyes; I stopped in my tracks staring at it. I had always loved black cats—which is probably why Yoruichi and I got along so well—but my Dad was allergic and we couldn't have one.

"I wanna do this one!" I shouted quickly and ran over to the game owner.

"What do I have to do to win the black cat?" I asked him.

"Hit the three top targets with the soccer balls and the cat's yours—you get five soccer balls per try." He smiled.

"Challenge accepted!" I said, slamming the money on the counter.

He laughed in response as I walked over to where the game took place.

The layout was basically like a miniature soccer field, but inside of a huge cage to catch the soccer balls. Toward the back of the field were 3 rows of targets.

One row of 5 targets on the ground, a row in the middle suspended by a rafter of some sort with 4 targets, and the 3 targets hanging from the ceiling. I wasn't good at any sports at all, and soccer was probably my least favorite of them all. I always ended up kicking the ball wrong, or falling while running with it. But even though I didn't like the sport and sucked at it, I _really_ wanted that black stuffed cat.

"Ready?" the game owner asked.

"Tell me when!" I replied with a nod.

"Ready, set, go!" he announced as he walked to the side.

I took a few steps back, and ran into the first kick. The first ball I kicked hit one of the middle targets—I was already off to a bad start. The second one hit one target on the ground, the third missed entirely, the forth almost hit the top target but missed, and I had already given up by the fifth one and just kicked it at a bottom one.

"Better luck next time!" the man said, handing me a toy I didn't care about at all.

Downtrodden, I took the toy and handed it to Rangiku. The stupid game didn't look that hard, but it in reality definitely was; I borderline almost pouted.

"Here, I'll try a round." Toushirou suddenly said.

I looked up at him as he walked over and gave the man the money. The man set up the soccer balls for Toushirou and took a few steps back: Rangiku poked me with an elbow and I blushed again.

"Ready, set, go!" the owner announced again.

Effortlessly, Toushirou reared up his right leg and kicked the soccer ball like he'd been playing all his life.

Top left target hit.

My mouth dropped and Rangiku giggled.

He reared up again for the second, the top middle target hit.

My eyes were definitely gleaming.

Third ball, third top target hit.

I literally started jumping for joy.

"Toushirou you did it! You're amazing!" I shouted excitedly.

He quickly kicked the last two soccer balls to get rid of them, and the man walked over to him with the black cat prize.

"Congratulations!" the man said, handing Toushirou the toy.

Toushirou took it and handed it to me.

"Here, it's the one you wanted right?"

I was so excited that I took the toy and hugged Toushirou.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Yeah, no problem; now get off me!" He said, giving me an awkward light shove since he didn't know how to handle my hug.

"Why don't you two just make out already?" Rangiku teased.

"Hey!" we both shouted at her; both of us redder than any tomato you'd ever seen.


	18. Chapter 18

After we rode some of the rides at the carnival, it was finally time to start heading back home to get ready for Prom. We got back on the bus, and ended up getting back to the house around 5ish. I ate a light snack, and then Rangiku worked her magic on me for the next few hours.

She refused to let me go with my normal makeup and hairstyle, so it took longer than usual to get ready. Plus Rangiku was trying to instruct me on how to act as a young woman rather than a tomboy, which sounded far too challenging for me.

"There! You're all finished, Azumi-chan! And you look fabulous if I do say so myself!" Rangiku smirked, backing away to look at me.

I walked over to the mirror and took a look at myself.

Let's start with my hair. It was straightened and teased at the top of my head for volume and to make my layers highly visible—complementing the rest of the look. My brown strands of hair were hair sprayed in loose curls, and some of the shorter strands were pinned behind my ear on the right side of my head with the black flower pin we bought earlier.

My makeup was much lighter than it usually was, and I actually really considered it for my daily makeup. I had bronze colored, shimmery eye shadow, and the top of my eye lids lined with black-winged eyeliner. The bottom corners of my eyes were filled in with a little bit of the same eyeliner, but only at the outer edges. The rest of my bottom lid didn't have any eyeliner, but a little bit of concealer for the bags I'd developed over the past few months. To finish off the eye makeup, my lashes were curled more than usual and held up with regular black mascara. As for the rest of my face, Rangiku used a little bit of concealer and a subtle amount of blush to highlight my cheeks and finished the look off with nude-colored lipstick.

Rangiku let me keep my earrings on—since I wouldn't let her take them off—but added a small silver necklace with a few silver roses on it to complement my push-up bra-ed chest.

Now for the dress; it was a "V" cut, dark forest green, spaghetti-strapped dress with black lace on top of it. The top half of it was fitted down until the waistline, and then flowed outward with the lace being longer than the green in a staggered cut. The lace also had roses stitched into it—complementing the necklace completely. To complete the look, I wore black, lightly-pointed flats and had a small, black leather purse with a strap.

It was definitely still more feminine than I was used to, but what I liked about it was that it was slightly edgy. I twirled around a few times contently before pummeling Rangiku in a hug.

"For once, I look _and_ feel amazing! Thank you so much!" I grinned up at her.

She squeezed me back tightly in lower-scaled form of her death hug, before letting me go and inspecting me again.

"You're very welcome, Azumi-chan! I love this kind of stuff _and_ love spending time with you! The Taichou is gonna be so impressed!" She squealed.

"Okay, I'm going to have Taichou get dressed, and then run to the flower shop to get the corsages I ordered for you two. He should be ready by the time I get back; stay here for a little while, Azumi-chan!" She said, before she walked out the door.

A few minutes passed, and she returned with a white rose corsage. She tied it onto my wrist over my sword wound, and then escorted me out of my room.

"Here she comes, Taichou!" Rangiku hollered, running down the stairs before I did.

"Geez, Rangiku!" I said embarrassed.

I took a deep breath and started walking down the stairs. Rangiku had made Toushirou stand up so he could see me, and as soon as I got to the bottom of the staircase, Rangiku snapped a picture of me on her cellphone.

Toushirou just stared at me.

I couldn't tell if it was good or bad—all I knew was that my face instantly felt hot.

"Tada!" Rangiku announcred, motioning toward me.

"Doesn't she look beautiful, Taichou?" She giggled, looking back at him.

Toushirou turned away, most likely flustered from being thrown into a situation where a compliment was necessary—or, at least that's what I figured.

"You look very nice, Takashita," he said without making eye contact.

"Back at ya," I replied.

Toushirou really did look good in a suit. It was an all black coat and pants with the same green color of my dress as his undershirt. He wore a black tie, and a white rose was pinned to his chest pocket to match mine. His hair was still as stylish as ever, but slightly more pushed back than usual—I'm sure Rangiku had a little something to do with it. Honestly though, he looked absolutely enchanting—why the Hell did he have to be so attractive?

"Are you ready to go?" He asked, looking over at me.

I walked over to him.

"As ready as I'll ever be! Are you walking with us, Rangiku?" I asked her.

"No, I've decided to stay here and have a nice relaxing evening. But before you guys go, come with me over here," she opened the front door and we followed.

We walked with her outside, and over to the side of the house in front of the wooden flower wall that led up to my bedroom. Rangiku moved me to stand closely to Toushirou, and maneuvered my hands so that the left one with the corsage overlapped and held my right hand. She grabbed Toushirou—much to his _and my_ dismay—and had him grab me by my waist.

"Matsumoto, what are you doing?" He asked annoyed.

"I'm positioning the two of you for a picture! Now hold still and let me finish!" She said, a motherly tone to her words.

Toushirou stuck his free hand in his pocket and I just stood there stiffer than a board. Rangiku poked my stomach multiple times to get me to loosen up and it worked. She took a few steps back and took out her phone.

"Smile!" She said.

I grinned the best I could, although I'm sure it came out sheepishly; she snapped the picture, and continued.

"Now don't move!" She ordered.

Rangiku walked over and stood on the other side of me. She flipped the phone around to get a picture of all three of us. She checked the phone to make sure it turned out, and when she gleamed, I backed up immediately out of Toushirou's grasp.

"One more of just me and you!" she put her arm around me and snapped another pic.

"All right guys, have fun! Take pictures!" Rangiku said, pulling us both into another hug before walking inside the house.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Lead the way,"

-[×]-

Prom ended up being held at a recreation building a few streets away. I had never been into it before, but now walking into the building, I realized just how large it really was. I took out my phone to take pictures for Rangiku.

It was dimly lit, but it was well decorated. It looked like a cross between a Paris and Victorian theme, and had white and red as the two base colors. As we walked in, there was a huge banner that hung in the background that said: 'Forever For Tonight'—which evidently was the main theme.

I laughed at how the theme completely matched my entire situation. Toushirou just stared at me puzzled.

"What do you think, Toushirou? Do you like the decorations?" I asked with a smile.

"They're interesting—they did a good job I suppose." He replied half-heartedly.

"So what is it that we actually do here?" He asked; I shrugged.

"I don't know; I've never been to a dance before. I'm assuming you would do what I just said: dance." I laughed lightly.

"Let's go get some food and then sit down and eat. I'm starving, and you need your vegetables to grow big and strong," I smirked, elbowing his side.

He gave me a glare, then I looped my arm through his and pulled him over to the food line. There were so many kids here that I was shocked. I had no idea there were this many Seniors that went to Karakura High. We got to the food line and I un-looped myself from him while we waited. The spread looked glorious and I was instantly hungry just staring at it. After a few more minutes we got our food and silverware and spotted an empty table.

"Toushirou, I'll take the food to the table, and you get something for us to drink?" I prompted.

"Sure, that's fine," he complied, handing me his plate.

I walked over to the table and as soon as I did, was greeted with a voice I didn't think I would hear this evening—just my luck.

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here? You actually were brave enough to come to Prom?"

I set the food down on the table and turned around—it was the two girls who tried to beat me up that one day; I sighed loudly.

"What the Hell do you two want?" I asked harshly.

"Woah, calm down there, _princess_ , we were just wondering why they'd allow low-life's like you even show up."

"Well, they allowed you two to show up, so that _must_ be saying something." I laughed.

"How cute, she came up with her own comeback—as stupid as it was. So, who's that guy you're with? He's too attractive to be seen with the likes of you. You should just let us take him off your filthy hands."

As much as they shouldn't have, her words got to me. Toushirou _was_ too attractive for me, and I kind of felt guilty that he was stuck bringing me to this dance.

"You may be right about the attractive part, but he's still my date tonight. So no, neither of you can take him off my hands. Just leave us alone and go back to your other ass-hole friends and get drunk off some spiked-punch or something." I turned around to fix the food on the table, and one of them grabbed my bad wrist.

"I don't like your attitude, you little tramp; come with us for some fresh air, won't you?"

She pulled my wrist so hard that I involuntarily yelped.

It was still so freaking tender.

"I'm going to teach you why you don't deserve a guy as hot as Hideki-kun and the one you're with. We're going to show what you truly are to them: the slut we saw in the street that one day. You must've had a long night out on the corner, and we're going to show everyone why you can't be a functional part of—"

"So these are the two from that day you told me about."

Toushirou took her hand off my wrist and pulled me back gently toward him. One of the girls coughed uncomfortably and the one that had grabbed me just straightened herself up.

"What does a handsome guy like you say to spending the evening with us?" She asked.

The nerve that she had was absolutely impressive, I'll give her that.

"Absolutely not. Who would want to spend an evening with individuals who lack respect for their fellow classmate? It's embarrassing really—picking on someone just because." Toushirou replied without missing a beat.

Their faces were priceless; they were trying so hard to look tough but failed so miserably.

"You don't understand—she's a whore! What do you even see in her? She's not even attractive!" One of them pointed at me.

Toushirou chuckled.

"Again, it's sad that the two of you pick on someone just because they're different from you. Takashita Azumi is a caring, loyal person who would do anything to make someone's day. She has a sarcastic, but good-hearted personally that is truly one of a kind. I happen to think that she is very attractive, but it's not just her looks that make her that way; it's her personality and kindness that compliment her features—unlike the two of you. If it weren't for your spoiled and rotten personalities, maybe the two of you would come off as attractive." He paused, turning to set our drinks by our plates.

"Now if you'll excuse us, our food is getting cold. I'd suggest you leave before I report to the faculty members about the flask you having sticking out of your dress." Toushirou shot at her.

She gasped and tucked the flask back into her bra, looking around to make sure no one saw.

"Wow, you're not as attractive as I thought you were _kid—_ you know what, you two freaks deserve each other; it's a shame I actually thought you were attractive. Have fun, losers." She fixed her hair, and then they both walked away.

Toushirou turned to me and took hold of my wrist, inspecting it.

"Are you okay? I heard you yelp when she grabbed your wrist; I can perform more healing kido on it if you'd like." He looked up at me, and I just stared back at him.

"What?" He asked.

I put my other hand over his and smiled.

"Thank you for sticking up for me,"

"Don't mention it." He said, letting my hand go.

He walked over to my chair and pulled it out for me; I took the invitation and sat down to eat. We both didn't say anything, just ate in silence and people watched.

I felt like I had so many questions to ask Toushirou, but I didn't really know where to start. Everything that he said made me really feel like Rangiku was right. But I didn't really know how to ask him about it—or whether or not I should even bring it up—so I just let it go. After tomorrow, who the Hell knows if anything would come of it anyway.

Finally after what seemed like forever, I spoke up.

"So tell me, is there anything like this in the Soul Society? I bet you guys would all get pretty crazy," I said sarcastically.

"Not really how this event is; sure, people do gather to mingle and dance, but it's not a formal event with dancing like this. Granted, there are some formal events; if one of the noble families have an event, it's generally very formal, but we don't have suits and dresses, we have traditional clothing." He explained.

"I see, well that's cool too I suppose." I commented.

"Do you know how to dance, Toushirou?"

"Somewhat; Hinamori taught me a little bit, but I haven't done it in ages." He replied.

"Well, you still know how to do it more than I do, that's a good thing!" I smiled.

I couldn't help but think about what Rangiku told me earlier about this Hinamori person, and I couldn't help but bring it up.

"You must miss Hinamori a lot—you've been here for a while. Have you heard from her at all?" I asked.

"No, I haven't. Last I heard she was still recuperating, but she must be up and about by now though, knowing her." He looked down with a small smile on his face.

She must have really meant a lot to him. I was a little jealous, but I pushed the feeling away. It was wrong to feel that way, especially if I didn't know her.

"Well I hope you're right; I hope she's doing a lot better, and hopefully you'll talk to her soon." I smiled at him.

"Thanks, hopefully." He replied.

His phone started beeping and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"It's Matsumoto; I'll be right back." He got up and walked out toward the hallway.

As soon as he was out of the room, a familiar voice came from behind me.

"You look absolutely beautiful tonight, Kawaii-chan,"

I jolted forward in surprise and snapped my head back to see Hideki behind me. His black hair was styled to the side, and he wore all black with a white tie and a white rose in his pocket—he looked really nice to say the least.

"Oh, hi Hideki; thanks, you look nice as well," I complimented, shifting in my seat.

The song changed and Hideki held his hand out toward me.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

And then I remembered that I told him I'd dance at least once with him—dammit.

"Well, I don't really know how," I started.

"No worries, Kawaii-chan, I'll lead you." He said with a smile.

I gulped and took his hand.

Toushirou was gonna flip.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

"Rangiku, what's going on?" I asked, answering the phone.

I had stepped away from the main event hall to get a clear signal and hear better.

" _ **Oh, nothing Taichou! I wanted to know how it was going? Is it a lot of fun? Are you guys enjoying yourselves? What's happened so far?"**_ She asked.

She sounded like an overly excited child.

I let out the breath I'd been holding; I thought something happened and they needed assistance.

"It's going fine; I'm sure Takashita will tell you about it later." I answered, trying to hide the irritation in my voice.

" _ **But I'm so impatient, Taaaichouu!"**_ She replied.

"Tough luck." I hung up the phone.

She knew only to call if there was an emergency—useless.

I started walking back inside, thinking about those two immature schoolgirls. I forgot that even in the World of the Living people still pick on others whether they're young children or adults. I thought about what I'd said to them about Takashita.

" **I don't understand why you try to even hide it, Master. Why do you still feel confused about the situation?"** Hyourinmaru chimed in suddenly.

I really hated when he did that.

" _Try to hide what, Hyourinmaru? The odd feelings I have for Takashita that are prohibited by the Soul Society? You should know why I'm confused about the whole thing. She is completely not my type, first of all, and second of all she's still a living human. Not to mention the fact that there's something major she's hiding involving Aizen. I can't just sit here and let my emotions cloud my judgments now, can I?"_ I told him.

" **While everything you say is true, there are some things you just can't help, Master, and this is one of them."** He replied.

I hated it when he was right.

I didn't say anything back, I just let his words sink in.

I got to the table and Takashita was gone. I scanned the room for her and spotted her dancing with Hideki Katsu.

"That bastard," I breathed out.

" **What do you plan on doing about it?"** Hyourinmaru asked.

I hated that guy.

His reiatsu didn't necessarily feel friendly and I could just tell he was up to no good. But what made me angry was the fact that beside that, the main thing that made me really made me detest him was the way he treated Takashita. She wasn't some object that could be tossed around or toyed with the way he does with her. At times it made me so angry that I subconsciously let my reiatsu flow out.

I didn't know I was strutting over to them until I was already in front of them.

"Mind if I cut in, Hideki?" I asked.

Takashita promptly let go of him in an apologetic look and turned to me.

"Sure, Hitsugaya-san, the song was just about finished anyway. Thanks for letting me borrow your Kawaii-chan." He turned back to Takashita.

"M'lady," he slightly bowed at her and then turned on his heel and walked away.

The next song started, and I took Takashita's hand and pulled her close to me by her hip. A few moments passed and she finally spoke up.

"Toushirou, I'm—" she started, I cut in.

"It's fine; I'm sorry I left you alone." I swayed back and forth with her, not making eye contact.

"Did he say anything to you?"

I could feel her hand clench mine tighter at my question.

"Uh, well, n-nothing really."

I just gave her a look and she looked away before blurting what he actually said.

"He just said I look nice and that you're going to have some competition." She blushed.

I almost chuckled.

"I see." I replied.

I ended up letting a smirk slip—what a fool that guy was.

" **Excited at the thought of a challenge? I wonder why…"** Hyourinmaru laughed that deep, burly laugh of his.

I tried not to make a facial expression at his words, but they definitely left me a tad flustered.

Was that truly it? Did I consider Hideki a challenge? Was that why I hated him so much—because I was jealous? It sounded incredibly childish, and I couldn't believe that was the emotion I was experiencing.

The dragon laughed again.

" **You're only now figuring this out?"**

I wanted to bang my head against a wall so much in that instant.

"You're good at this," Takashita commented sheepishly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I actually had forgotten that we were dancing and how close I held her to me; I almost blushed.

"Maybe one day you could teach me some moves," she managed a small chuckle, trying to change the subject.

I took a small breath in an effort to exhale my anger.

"It's not too hard; rather simple really." I replied as the song ended and a more formal-sounding one came on.

"Here, follow my lead. When I step forward, you step back. Whatever move I make, you do almost the opposite. Ready?" I asked.

I stepped forward and she stepped back robotically. She stared down at our feet and whatever move I made, she treated it like it was a game of chess. I smiled lightly and chuckled; it was funny how focused she was.

"What are you laughing at, Toushirou?" She squeaked, flustered and playfully angry as she gripped my hand tighter.

"Nothing." I replied.

"I hope so, this _is_ one of my first times doing this sort of thing!" She looked away, blushing.

"I know it is; you're doing fine, relax." I told her.

She let out a small exhale.

"All right, I'm going to spin you, are you ready?" I asked; she gulped.

"I'll do it slowly, don't worry." I lifted her hand up and slowly spun her around.

She took awkward steps and the whole time kept saying: 'Okay, oh god, okay, all right, I can do this.' Then when I brought her back into the main stance, her face gleamed with her goofy smile and she proudly cheered.

"I did it, and I didn't fall! Yes! 10 points!" She bounced around excitedly; I shook my head.

"Baka," I smiled lightly.

"I know, but I did it! I'm so proud of myself! I haven't fallen yet or stepped on you! Tonight's gonna be a good night!" She laughed.

"Yet," I teased.

"Truuuuue," she shrugged, smiling.

When the song ended, everyone started clapping, and Takashita suddenly pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you for this Toushirou, I really appreciate you doing this for me. I'm grateful to have you in my life; you make me happy." She said, squeezing me lightly.

I could feel my face getting warm at her surprise embrace; I returned the hug hesitantly before responding.

"No problem; I'm glad you're having a good time."

I don't know what it was about this human, but I felt like with her I could let down my guard. She made me feel comfortable; like I could act or say what I please. I'd never had this feeling with anyone aside from Hinamori or Obaa-san before, but this was different, and I strangely didn't want the feeling to go away. I didn't want to lose whatever relationship this was—it felt so selfish, but I didn't care. I wished I could just make this last a little longer.

I was nervous about this whole ordeal she was going to tell me about tomorrow. What could be so bad that it would change the way things are? Aizen…what could he possibly want with Takashita?

She pulled back and looked up at me, goofy grin and blush on her cheeks in full effect; I rolled my eyes and smirked. The next song came on, and I twirled her again. I stared at her smiling, light-hearted face as she giggled away at her own antics.

In that moment it was decided.

I didn't want anything bad to happen to her; in fact, I wasn't going to _let_ anything bad happen to her.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

We ended up coming home around just before midnight, got cleaned up, and went directly to sleep. As we laid down, however, Takashita told me how she planned to tell me tomorrow. She explained briefly that part of her telling me everything was to go with her to Urahara's training grounds at 6 a.m.—I knew he had something to do with it all along. I agreed to go since I wasn't going to request the Soutaichou until around 8 a.m. anyway, so I went along with it.

She gave me another hug, gave me her thanks, bid me goodnight, then rolled over and went to sleep. I forced myself to stop thinking about it and go to sleep. It already sounded like it was going to be a long day.

The alarm went off at 5:30, and she sluggishly got up to turn off the annoying beeping; I sat up and stretched as always while she went upstairs to go get ready. I got up and filled up the teapot for a quick cup of tea before we left; as the water boiled, I went upstairs to change, and by the time I was done, the water was as well. I hadn't told Rangiku about us going to Urahara's; I needed to know what exactly was going on first before letting all the others know.

I took a few sips of my tea, and waited for Takashita to come downstairs. After a few minutes, she finally came down. She was dressed in regular clothes and a light sweater since it was still early. She fixed her makeup, but didn't put on as much as she usually did—she looked better with less anyway.

She let out a deep breath and looked up at me.

"Ready to go?" She asked, her face looking completely downtrodden and nervous.

"When you are," I replied, getting up and putting the empty cup in the sink.

We left the house and started walking. The morning was cool and brisk with a light breeze; anyone could tell that the summer heat was right around the corner. The walk over was mostly quiet, but right before we reached Urahara's block, Takashita stopped in her tracks—hands clenched into fists.

"Toushirou," she started; I looked at her and she continued.

"If things get out of control, please do what you would normally as a Taichou." She paused and looked at me.

"And whatever the order is that the Soutaichou gives you, please follow it." She paused again as I stared right back into those determined eyes of hers.

She held her pinky up in front of me.

"Promise me."

I looked away—I hated promising things I knew nothing about. Reluctantly, I grabbed her pinky with my own and shook it.

"Thanks, Toushirou; I appreciate it." She tried hard to smile.

"I don't agree with it, but you're welcome." I replied before she started walking.

We arrived to see Urahara, Abarai, and Yoruichi standing in front of the shop.

"Good morning, Azumi-chan, Hitsugaya-Taichou!" Urahara greeted.

"Please, come in," he waved us over.

I expected Yoruichi to be there, but I wasn't expecting Abarai. I knew he was staying there at the moment, but I didn't know he was in on the whole situation. We followed Urahara downstairs into the training ground below, and toward a section full of boulders. He made Takashita step forward in front of everyone and a few feet away from one of the boulders. She took off her sweater and threw it on the ground before walking over to where he directed.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, I'm going to ask for you to not get involved in what's about to happen. I have Abarai-san and Yoruichi here in case of anything—please remain calm." He told me, that sneaky grin of his spread across his face.

"I can't promise that," I replied.

He just fanned off my comment and turned toward Takashita.

"Okay, Azumi-chan, please go ahead and begin! We're all here for you!" he shouted at her direction.

She nodded and took a deep breath.

She reached up to her ears and took off those new earrings she had been wearing lately, then held them in her hand, staring at them for a moment.

"Come out, Yoru no Shedo," she said.

Suddenly, the earrings shined with a golden glow, and they leapt out of her hand to the top of the boulder in front of Takashita. The glow expanded, and a golden-brown colored owl formed as the glow dissipated.

What the Hell was going on here?

"Takashita Azumi," The owl began, spreading it's fairly large wings out in a stretch.

"Do you have what it takes to be my Master?" It asked.

Takashita had a hard look of resolve on her face, and without breaking eye contact from the owl answered.

"Yes, I do."

Without a moments hesitation, the owl replied.

"Prove it."

Suddenly, the owl took flight, and in a flash flew straight into Takashita—slashing her shoulder deeply in less than a second.

My eyes widened and I immediately popped out of my gigai, hand on the hilt of Hyourinmaru.

Urahara put a hand out in front of me. Right before I pushed it away, I heard a firm voice that I never expected to hear.

"Stay out of it."

I looked up at Takashita, her focused and angered red eyes staring back at me.

I didn't know how to react.

Why were her eyes suddenly red? What was going on with the owl, and why did it suddenly attack her?

She looked away at the owl, who landed off to the side on another smaller boulder.

"So far, you're not proving to be worth my time." The owl said.

It was facing the opposite direction from Takashita, and it spun it's head completely around to look at her.

"We'll see about that," Takashita replied.

Suddenly, Takashita disappeared in a flash-step and appeared right in front of the owl, launching what seemed to look like a Cero at it.

My jaw almost dropped.

What the Hell was going on here?

The owl dodged successfully, and reappeared in flight above.

"You think you're fast? Nonsense."

The owl flew toward her in the same attack it used before, and Takashita barely dodged with flash-step.

Suddenly, it seemed like a dangerous game of tag they played. They both sprinted back and forth, dodging each other and the blows they both launched at each other. Takashita was hit by a few of them, and as she kept trying to dodge, more and more of her blood dripped onto the ground. She couldn't take this for much longer, that was for sure; I was still just in shock at the display before me.

Finally, Takashita stopped to take a breath and the owl landed as well. Takashita panted heavily, and shook her injured shoulder to lash the blood off it and onto the floor.

She put her hand over her face—one eye covered, the other one wide-eyed and staring at the owl. The white of her eye had turned completely black now while the iris stayed that blood red color.

It strangely reminded me of…

"Yoru no Shedo," Takashita interrupted my thoughts.

The owl—or Yoru no Shedo—said nothing.

"I can't promise that I can control myself for any longer. Have I passed your test?" She managed to exhale.

She sounded different, like her voice was being taken over by something. Don't tell me...

Before Yoru no Shedo could reply, Takashita screamed violently.

The sound of her scream shook me to my core.

She bent over, pulling at her hair so hard it looked like she was going to rip it out.

"What's happening to her, Urahara?" I shouted at him, angry and panicked.

Suddenly Takashita spit out some type of white substance, and it engulfed her entire face. It spread down her neck and to her shoulders and arms. Throughout the screams she choked out, her voice changed more and more and into such a familiar roar. She panted, grunted, and swung her now white armored arms violently and swiftly.

Yoru no Shedo wasted no time.

With a demonic, high-pitched scream, she started to form a purple Cero from her mouth.

Takashita didn't even see it forming—it felt powerful; it would blow right through her.

I leapt up toward Yoru no Shedo, but Yoruichi stopped me in my tracks and pinned me to the ground.

"She isn't going to survive that!" I snarled at Yoruichi.

What the Hell wasn't she or anyone getting about this situation?

"She can handle herself! Just let it go!" Yoruichi shot back sternly; her hard yellow eyes staring hard into mine as she held me down.

Before I could say anything more, Yoru no Shedo launched the Cero at Takashita.

"Takashita!" I shouted.

Takashita inhaled, and I nearly lost my mind.

She literally inhaled the Cero.

I watched in awe as she sucked it up, and spit it back out at the owl.

Yoru no Shedo dodged the attack, but immediately Takashita flash-stepped to her; catching her completely off guard. Takashita grabbed the owl and stabbed her with her claws before she threw her on the ground with monstrous force.

Yoru no Shedo laid there, badly injured.

"You win for now, _Master,_ " Yoru no Shedo glowed brightly and returned into the earring form Takashita wore before.

Yoruichi let me go and I stood up.

Takashita was floating there in the atmosphere, staring at the spot where the earrings were. She looked up at us; cold, empty eyes redder than they were before. I looked at her form.

" _Why does it seem so…"_

Then it hit me.

She was the Hollow I chased after the other night—the one that I…

She roared suddenly, and in an instant was in front of Urahara, slashing down at him with her claws.

He blocked with his Benihime, and immediately Abarai and Yoruichi grabbed both of her arms and tackled her into submission.

She roared and snarled, mouth open and snapping.

"Tessai-san!" Urahara yelled.

Tessai and a few others that lived in the house came out holding a medium-sized Hollow that had a Bakudo cast on it. You could tell it was trying to break free because it's head squirmed while it roared, but it wasn't strong enough to break Tessai's kido.

"Ready!" he signaled.

They pushed the Hollow closer to Takashita, and Urahara turned to me.

"Move!" he shouted.

All of us—including Yoruichi and Renji—flash-stepped back, leaving Takashita and the Hollow where they were. Takashita got up, tilted her head to the side while she stared at the Hollow before her. She looked up at me, and then got back on the ground and bit a chunk out of the Hollow.

It screamed in pain as an appropriate response, and she stabbed it several times with her claws. She started sucking at its neck, and after a few more seconds the Hollow disintegrated.

Blood all over her mask, she propped herself back up to her feet.

Suddenly, she appeared in front of me and pushed me with that monstrous strength of hers against a nearby rock.

I quickly glanced at the arm she pinned me with, seeing the familiar wound on her wrist.

"I was the one who gave you that wound," I said more to myself than her.

She slowly lifted her hand in between us, a red glow emitting from it. I put my hand on Hyourinmaru's hilt and stared into her fierce, red eyes.

"Takashita," I said sternly.

The Cero kept forming.

"Takashita, stop. It's me, Hitsugaya Toushirou,"

It was a ball now and she aimed it for my chest.

"So this is what you meant," I breathed out.

She roared, and I saw a flash in her eyes. Her pressure on me loosened slightly, and I took the opportunity to flash-step out of her grasp.

She shoved the Cero against the boulder, leaving nothing left of it.

She turned to look at me, and grabbed the bottom of her mask. She snapped the chin off and threw the part of it to the ground. She shrieked in pain, but it didn't sound like her newfound Hollow tone. It was tinged with her regular voice; the one I was used to, and the one that panged me with guilt and hurt at hearing the scream.

The Hierro on her arms started chipping off, and she kept clawing at the mask, ripping chunks off of it. She freed one of her eyes from under the mask. Her eye was almost half white, the black receding. She stared at me.

"More," she managed to say.

It was hardly even interpretable, but she still managed to say it.

"Tessai!" Urahara yelled again.

"Ready!" He responded.

He brought another Hollow out, and Takashita jumped at it, doing the same thing as she did before. She literally almost ripped the thing to shreds before she could even suck the life out of it.

Finally, when it disintegrated, she fell back on the ground and laid there. You could literally hear her Hierro crack, and see it falling off in huge chunks. When all of it fell off, she was just laying there, passed out and wounded.

I immediately ran to her side and prepared to start healing her.

Tessai came over with towels and a first aid kit, then started cleaning her up. Urahara came over to her with Yoru no Shedo in his hands and cleaned the jeweled creature off with some rubbing alcohol before performing kido on it.

No one said a word, and finally I'd had just about enough.

"Anyone care to explain what the Hell is going on here?" I spat out venomously.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

I woke up in pain—it felt like a train crashed into me. I managed to sit up and look around the room—I was at Urahara's.

"Oh…shit." I whispered out.

It all came back to me.

"I can't believe that I…"

I immediately became angry.

Not only did I attack Urahara, but I attacked Toushirou too. I couldn't break free and control myself until the very end of everything. I shouldn't have brought Toushirou this morning, and I shouldn't have involved anyone.

I should've let Yoru no Shedo just kill me.

If I was going to become a monster and kill off my friends, then I'd rather someone just slit my throat right now—I'm such a moron!

"Well, who knows, maybe I'll get my death wish after today," I whispered aloud.

I struggled a bit, but managed to get up. I was in that kimono again; my clothes were probably all stained and shredded with everything that happened. I reached up and felt that I was wearing Yoru no Shedo; I wondered if she'd be okay or not with how I practically stabbed my fingers clean through her.

I cursed mentally at myself as I walked to the sliding door. As soon as I started to open it, someone also opened it from the other side and I crashed into them.

I looked up to meet Toushirou's blank, teal hues.

I immediately put my head down and looked away—I couldn't make eye contact.

"How's your shoulder?" Toushirou asked.

"I-It's okay for the moment," I stuttered out.

"We'll stop by Inoue's on the way home." He said.

"Are you hurt?" I asked.

"No." He replied quickly.

I stood there fidgeting for a moment.

"Toushirou, I am so, incredibly sorry…for everything. You don't have to accept my apology. I just wanted you to know that that in my conscious mind, I would never do anything to purposely hurt you or anyone else." I chirped out.

I held my breath—if I had let out an exhale I would've cried.

Several uncomfortable, unpleasant seconds passed.

_He didn't say anything._

I couldn't take it—I pushed by him and sped into the hallway.

He didn't turn to look or really react; he just stood there. I didn't blame him; after everything he just saw, I could understand him not trusting me or caring about me anymore.

I fast walked down the hallway, staring at the floor with my head down as I did. I maneuvered myself a few passageways down and smacked right into someone.

I looked up to see Yoruichi smiling down at me.

I exhaled with watery eyes and tried to smile; only the corners of my lips turned up. She put her hand behind my head and pulled me to her chest.

"Azumi, you fool," I could hear the small smile that played on her lips.

"Come on, let it out."

I hate it when people say just the right thing to make you lose your shit.

There it was; I was crying and gripping Yoruichi's shirt like a small child. She didn't say anything, she just held me close to her. After a few more moments passed, I let go of her and wiped my tears on my sleeve.

"Thank you, Yoruichi; sorry for all the trouble I've caused." I said to her as I took deep breaths to try and suck back the tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry for; I'll always be here for you—you foolish girl," she smiled and lifted my chin up so I could look at her.

"And don't you forget it." She winked with a smirk.

I gave her another hug, and then she gently pushed me back.

"Kisuke wants to talk to you, come with me."

She turned around, and I followed her like the lost puppy I was. She took me to the room where we created Yoru no Shedo, and Urahara was sitting in his chair looking at something through a microscope. He heard us come in and lifted his head up.

"Ah! Azumi-chan, you're awake! Come here please; Yoruichi-San, please shut the door." He told us.

I walked up as she shut it, and I halted to a stop in front of him.

"I've been working on another project of mine for some time now, and due to the circumstances, I need to tell you about it now." He rolled back and opened the drawer of the table.

"This may be a little dramatic, but, desperate times call for desperate measures. Yoruichi-san, please hold her down on the table for me."

"Hold me down? What—"

Yoruichi came behind me and bent me over the table like I was some child about to get spanked.

Urahara pulled out a large syringe.

Have I ever expressed how much I hated needles? He put a small, bead-looking thing inside of the syringe, and then poked a jar on the table filled with some type of red liquid.

"Hey! What the Hell are you up to?" I shouted.

Swiftly, Urahara shoved the needle vertically up the back of my neck, and I screamed in response. I could just feel the liquid shoving itself into the bottom portion of my head. Somewhere in the mix, the little bead popped out of the needle and hurt worse than everything else.

Finally, Urahara slowly yet swiftly took the needle back out. He chanted a kido lowly that seemed to close the wound in my neck.

"Thank you, Yoruichi, you can let her up now." He said, jolly as ever.

"Why the Hell did you do that? What was that stuff? I hate needles!" I said loudly; Urahara chuckled.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! It had to be done, Azumi-chan! Now that Hitsugaya-Taichou knows the situation, I had to take precautions for when he—"

"What's going on in here?" Toushirou barged in.

All heads snapped to the intrusion, and Urahara took out his fan as coolly as ever.

"My apologies, Hitsugaya-Taichou! I had Azumi-chan come down for some quick testing before the two of you left; I wanted to make sure she was okay, and good to go before all else," Urahara explained.

Toushirou looked at me, and I immediately looked away—still too nervous to meet his gaze.

"And making sure she's 'okay,' involves her screaming?" Toushirou retorted.

"Evidently Azumi-chan isn't too fond of needles," Urahara chuckled, holding up the syringe.

I had a feeling that I should just let Urahara do all the talking; at that point I felt like anything I would say would sound like a blatant lie regardless.

"Anyhow, she's well enough to leave at the very least; I'd highly advise stopping her by Inoue-chan's home before you return with her to her home. Yoru no Shedo packed quite a punch," Urahara smiled and held his fan in front of his face.

Toushirou seemed really skeptical over Urahara's words, but shook it off and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Let's go, Takashita," He ordered.

At the call of my name, I straightened out like a child in trouble. I began making my way toward him wordlessly, and when I reached him, I turned around to Urahara and Yoruichi. I bowed formally, and looked both of them in the eyes upon straightening back up.

"Thank you both for everything; I appreciate all the knowledge, support, and kindness you've both shown me. _Hopefully_ , I'll see you both soon," I said, trying to crack a small smile.

Urahara nodded, and Yoruichi responded.

"Let us know what happens with the Soutaichou; be strong kiddo," She smirked.

I quickly nodded, and then heard Toushirou taking a step; I turned around and followed him out the door.

"My apologies for the delay," I said softly as we walked toward the front of the house.

He didn't say anything, and didn't slow his pace by any means.

Tessai caught us before we made it out the door, and gave me the only article of clothing I had that wasn't torn to pieces—my jacket.

I bowed and smiled in thanks, then quickly hurried back to Toushirou's side.

We had walked a few blocks away from Urahara's when I finally spoke up.

"I-I'm sorry to ask, but could you please slow down just a little bit? I'm having trouble keeping up—I'm sorry," I squeaked out cowardly.

Toushirou was walking so fast that it physically hurt me to keep up. He was obviously still mad and subconsciously striding faster than usual because of it, so it wasn't like I could blame him.

He suddenly stopped and looked down at the ground in front of him.

I couldn't tell whether or not I really pissed him off, or if he was stopping so I could catch my breath—I went with the first alternative.

"Sorry," I apologized shyly as I stopped behind him.

I didn't realize until that moment that I was out of breath. I really needed to see Orihime, but who knew if I'd even get to.

Suddenly, Toushirou turned around and looked at me.

I cowered under his gaze and looked down. He grabbed my wounded wrist and I couldn't help but shiver. He stared at it in his hand as he rubbed his thumb over the wound softly a few times.

"Takashita," He called.

I didn't dare look up at him; I didn't want to see the hurt in his face from all of my lying, deceit, foul—

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he said.

I stopped my internal panicking as confusion washed over me. I subconsciously curled my other hand into a fist, and slightly crept back.

"If I would have known it was you, I wouldn't have attacked you." He continued.

I still didn't look up at him; it didn't matter to me that he accidentally hurt _me_ , it mattered that I hurt _him_ by keeping all of these secrets and destroying the trust he had for me.

"Would you forgive me?" He asked.

Well I certainly wasn't expecting that.

I managed the courage to peek up at him.

He was staring into my eyes before I had even locked onto his. Just by the split second I looked up at him, I could tell that he was in disarray. He looked like he truly did something horrible, even though he didn't do anything at all.

"Toushirou, y-you don't have anything to be sorry about. I-I'm the one that couldn't be sorry enough. There is nothing I could possibly do to make up for endangering you and the others for my selfishness. There's nothing I can do to make up for all the lies, the secrets, and the trust that I've broken. I've just been so afraid of what's going to happen that I…I…"

I bit my lip and took back the hand Toushirou held onto. I held myself as I broke visual contact with him, and swayed lightly in an effort to keep it together.

"Takashita," Toushirou called lightly.

I stayed silent and mustered all of my courage to look back up at him.

"I now understand why you kept this from me—I don't blame you for it. I could only imagine how scared you must've been this whole time," He began.

I stopped swaying at his words as he continued.

"I did something similar to you when we first met; if you recall." He continued.

I couldn't help but lightly smile at that. It completely sucked at the time, but I couldn't blame Toushirou or the others for erasing my memories. In the end, they chose to trust me, and I made the greatest friends I'd ever had.

"Takashita, listen," He broke my train of thought.

"If my trust is what you're worried about—don't be. I understand everything now, and have decided to still put my trust in you. I only ask for one thing,"

He paused and stepped closer to me; I had subconsciously stepped back in fear of him, and so he closed some of the gap between us.

"If you can forgive me, then I'll forgive you. Is that acceptable?" He asked.

His words completely took me by surprise.

I could feel my eyes watering with tears of relief. I couldn't help but widen my small smile at his offer.

"Y-You're sure you're not mad at me?" I stuttered out.

"I'm mad at myself for giving you that wound on your wrist more than anything," He replied.

I chortled accidentally.

"Of all things to be mad at, you chose your own action," I paused to wipe away a tear.

"I'll forgive you if you promise to not beat yourself up about that," I bargained.

"That's a steep request; the most I can settle for is that I'll try," He replied.

I looked up at him, and couldn't hold myself back.

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

"I forgive you, Toushirou; _I'm so, so sorry_!" I whimpered.

He put a hand on my head, and gently placed one on my back. He chuckled lightly at my childish behavior as I whined in his embrace.

"I'm sorry too," He said, lightly squeezing me back.


	20. Chapter 20

We stopped by Orihime's on the way home so I could heal from the wounds Yoru no Shedo inflicted. Orihime tried not to ask questions, but I could tell she was about to erupt any second.

"I promise I'll tell you what's going on soon, Orihime; thank you for being patient and going along with everything." I patted her lap.

"O-Oh, not a problem at all, Azumi-chan! Only when you're comfortable!" She stuttered out; I smiled and took my hand back.

"Inoue, can you heal her wrist too, please?" Toushirou suddenly spoke up.

I looked up at him to see him staring at my wrist—I could tell that now he felt really guilty about it.

"Sure, Hitsugaya-Taichou-san," Orihime expanded her healing field and included my wrist in the equation.

Immediately some of the missing skin filled the small crease and it healed without any scarring. I held my hand up and twisted my wrist—the tenderness was completely gone.

"Aw, and here I thought I'd have a cool scar." I lightly joked—Toushirou didn't think it was as funny as I did.

"Thanks again, Orihime; I think that will about do it! We'll be heading out now." I said as I got up, Orihime following suit and leading us to the door.

We said goodbye and started walking to the house. It was silent between us for a couple of blocks, and then I decided to speak up.

"What do you think will happen when…" I trailed off; he knew where I was going with the statement.

"I've thought of the probabilities, but the Soutaichou is unpredictable. Every time I think I've figured him out, he always proves me wrong. I'm not sure what his judgement will be." Toushirou gazed up into the sky, staring at the single cloud passing by.

"I see," was all I could manage to say.

We reached the house and went inside. Rangiku seemed to still be sleeping, so at least she wasn't panicking the whole time we were gone. I changed out of the kimono Urahara let me borrow and sat on the couch, waiting for Toushirou and Rangiku to go to their meeting with the Soutaichou. They finally came down and Toushirou sent Rangiku to get the communication system working. He walked up to me, staring at me twiddling my fingers out of nervousness.

"I'm sure that the Soutaichou is going to want to speak to you, so you'll be present for the meeting." He said.

I got up, pulling the sleeves of my sweater over my hands and balling pieces of the cloth in my hands. I followed Toushirou into the garage and saw that Rangiku was already talking to some man on the huge screen. The man told us he was going to get the Soutaichou and that it would be a few minutes. The screen went blank and we all just stood there in uncomfortable silence.

I turned to Rangiku and Toushirou, and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to say this before this all starts. I want you guys to do whatever the Soutaichou says. I don't want you guys to get into anything troublesome over me. You both need to do what you have to do—whatever the order is, I'd like you both to adhere to it."

Before either of them could respond, the screen turned back on, and the Soutaichou was centered on the display. All of us bowed in unison, and when we returned to our standing position, the Soutaichou spoke.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, what is your full report?" He asked.

Well this guy sure as Hell didn't waste any time, but just by his looks, it was definitely to be expected.

"Yes, Soutaichou." Toushirou began.

"Regarding the recent Espada attack, the ones we fought were decoys. They were sent here to distract us from guarding Takashita Azumi so they could kidnap her. Thankfully—as you already know—their plan failed."

"Have you any news of why they are trying to take Takashita Azumi?" He asked.

I didn't like the way he said my name—it scared me.

"Yes, I do. As of this morning, I've learned that Takashita Azumi is not an ordinary human as we believed. She is a half Bounto, half Hollow hybrid. From what I've been informed, Takashita's mother was one of Aizen's test subjects; Takashita herself the result of the experiment. When we were attacked the other night, Takashita was also attacked by an Arrancar. This Arrancar briefly revealed that Aizen plans to create an army of these new hybrid beings. But in order to do that, he needs Takashita back in Las Noches. He plans to make her,"—he almost stuttered the next word—"reproduce. I would assume it is for a purer test subject."

The Soutaichou stared at me, as was expected. I made eye contact for a little bit but his gaze was so fearful that I quickly looked away.

"Takashita Azumi," the Soutaichou called.

"Yes sir." I straightened out like a soldier in the military.

"Where does your allegiance lie?" He asked.

"With the Soul Society." I answered quickly and clearly.

"Tell me about yourself, Takashita Azumi; how did you find out, and what has happened?" He asked.

"Takashita Azumi, age 17, Bounto and Hollow. I had no knowledge of what I truly am until recently; when my adoptive parents were slaughtered in front of me, my mother told that there was a letter for me with her dying words. Upon reading the letter, I found out my biological mother was Souma Yoshino, a Bounto. Aizen used her reproduction ability to create me, and when I was born, my biological mother somehow escaped with me into the World of the Living. She put a seal on me to suppress my reiatsu so that Aizen couldn't track me down. It was only recently that the seal wore off and I found everything out." I paused to take a breath.

My nerves were shot.

I didn't notice until then that I had been shaking.

"Bounto and Hollow feed on human souls to survive, am I to assume that the same can be said about you?" He asked in reply.

"No; we've discovered that I can consume Hollows instead of human souls. To my knowledge, I have only fed off Hollows." I replied.

It was true—I couldn't remember hardly anything from the first night I found out. Of course I assumed it was humans I fed on, but it could've been Hollows…could have anyway…

He took a moment to just stare at me. It looked like he didn't move a single muscle; he was so incredibly stiff while I was over here trying to control my nervous shaking.

"You've said 'to your knowledge' you've only fed on Hollows; does that imply you weren't in control of yourself while feeding?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. When I need to feed, I transform into a Hollow. I've discovered a way to control myself in that form, but I am still working on it and don't have complete control yet." I explained.

"I see, and can you transform at will?" He asked.

His finger lifted from its resting position on his cane briefly, and then settled again with the rest of his fingers.

"I haven't been able to yet; the only times I've ever transformed have been either to feed, because of an injury, or because of a strenuous situation. I've been working on control over it and think that with time I will—"

The last thing I remember was falling face first on the ground and Toushirou yelling.

-[×]-

"Takashita Azumi,"

Who was that? It was a female voice.

"Wake up, Takashita Azumi,"

Although my eyelids were shut, there was an orange glow that penetrated through them; it was like something really bright was shining down on my face.

I tried to move but couldn't—I was restrained.

My eyes shot open into bright white light.

"Shit! What the Hell?" I shouted, shutting my eyes again.

"You're awake,"

I heard a click, and opened my eyes again; I blinked a few times and looked around. There was a woman with black hair sitting next to me; she had straight-cut bangs and her hair behind her was in a braid. She had a similar uniform to Rangiku's on, but it was fitted and instead of pants was a skirt.

"What's going on, who are you?" I asked, panicked.

"You have been arrested by the Soutaichou and are now in your containment cell." She replied, monotone and calm.

"W-Why am I strapped? Don't prisoners get to move around their cells?" I asked quickly, squirming around.

"Yes, normally, however, I've been instructed by Kurosutchi-Taichou to prepare you for examination and experimentation." She replied.

I then saw a table behind her with saws, syringes, knives, gloves, and all the things you would see in any psychotic horror film.

"What?" I shouted.

"No! Don't I get a say in this? Where's Toushirou and Rangiku? Help! Toushirou! Rangiku! Someone!" I started screaming and squirming.

"Just kill me! Don't experiment and torture me!" I thrashed around like a patient in a psych-ward and my reiatsu flared like crazy.

"Please, calm down, Takashita Azumi. If you persist, I've been ordered to inject you with a paralytic drug that will—"

"And who gave that order?" a familiar voice asked.

I literally almost cried just hearing it.

"Toushirou!" I called, voice cracking.

"Kurosutchi-Taichou." She replied.

"I order you to unstrap her and leave immediately." Toushirou commanded.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou,"

"That's an order." Toushirou said sternly.

"Hai, Taichou," she responded and complied with Toushirou.

After she released me, she stood up, wheeled the table out with her, and locked my cell. She bowed to Toushirou, and then left the room. I immediately sprang up and ran to the cell bars.

"Toushirou, what's going on?" I whimpered, grabbing the bars.

He walked over to me and stood directly in front of me.

"You've been arrested by the Soutaichou."

"Well yeah," I said sarcastically through my whimpering, motioning at the bars.

"But why?"

"The Soutaichou believes you are a threat."

"Figures." I exhaled.

"He sent in the stealth force to the World of the Living as a precaution, and during the meeting they came in and knocked you out. I had no idea that they were even sent; my apologies, Takashita." Toushirou explained.

I reached through the bars and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Well, I was half-expecting to be executed, so compared to that, I'm okay with being imprisoned." I smiled.

"Well _I'm_ not okay with it," Toushirou countered.

"I definitely get why, though; it's not that big of a deal. But what I am _not_ okay with is being experimented on! Is that part of my imprisonment? Because that is bullshit and I will find a way to commit suicide if so! You have no idea how much that scares me! It's one of my biggest fears!" I said flustered, staring fiercely at Toushirou.

"No, it isn't. The Taichou of the Research and Development Bureau likes to dissect and experiment on practically everything. Don't worry, I'll make sure that doesn't happen." Toushirou replied.

"Oh thank God!" I exhaled.

"If there weren't bars between us, I'd definitely tackle you in a hug right now." I grinned.

He shook his head, and a few moments of silence passed.

"Say, Toushirou,"

"Yes?"

"Where the Hell are we?"

"The Soul Society."

I should've figured, but I still was shocked.

"Really?" I moreover exclaimed than questioned.

I looked around and found a window. It was too high up, so I jumped up to get a view of the outside. From what I could make out, the only thing out there was a patch of grass and a wall. Toushirou just exhaled loudly at my childishness.

"Takashita,"

I stopped and looked back at him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry this happened to you," he started.

"I'm working on getting you out of there, but for the meantime it's for the best that you stay in there."

"Hey, don't be sorry; if there's anyone to blame it's Aizen. I didn't ask to be born this way, but again, I'm glad it's just imprisonment rather than an execution." I smiled.

"It could very well turn into that, Takashita. That's why I'm working to get you out of there." Toushirou countered.

"Oh…I see." My grin slowly faded away.

"So it's still up for debate?" I asked.

"Yes, we're going to have a Taichou's meeting about it later today. Rangiku will be the only Fukutaichou attending the meeting, so that will be two of us on your side. But there is something that I do need to ask you; is there a set time period in between feedings?"

I shook my head.

"Urahara and I were trying to figure that out. As far as we know, I can go at least a week without feeding. But, the last time I was in my Hollow form, I noticed that one Hollow was not enough to make me change back." I looked away.

For some reason, talking about that subject in particularly was embarrassing.

"I see," he responded.

"Toushirou,"

He looked at me, and I broke eye contact before continuing.

"What must you think of me now? Do you think I'm…a disgusting monster?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Not at all."

I looked up at him, taken aback by the quick answer—I figured it would at least be a delayed response.

"I don't think that at all. It's apart of you, and it's something that you have to work at controlling, but you definitely aren't a 'disgusting monster.' You do what you must to survive; it doesn't make you any less of a person."

His words made me feel incredibly airy.

His opinion of me made me feel like I was still a regular person with emotions and thought-process. But really, it was the fact that it came from _him_. He _specifically_ made me feel like I'm okay, and like no matter what I am, he would still be my friend.

I exhaled in relief.

"Thank you; your kind words mean a lot to me." I looked up at him smiling.

"You're welcome, Takashita." His expression eased a little at my gaze; even if only in a small fraction.

"One more thing; I made sure that Yoru no Shedo was to remain here and unharmed. She's out here on the counter rather than in the cell with you. Please don't have her do anything rash—I'm sure now that she's accepted you as her master, she'll follow your orders."

I peeked behind him and saw Yoru no Shedo on the counter. She was in her jewelry form on top of a folded cloth.

"I'll make sure she doesn't do anything as long as you make sure no one takes her; I'm not sure if she is able to survive away from me or not." I said.

"I'll do my best."

"Thanks." I smiled.

Rangiku suddenly burst through the door—scaring the crap out of me as it slammed open.

"Azumi-chan!" She ran over to me, pushing Toushirou to the side like he was some ragdoll.

She put her arms through the bars, grabbed me, and pulled down my eyelids.

"Rangiku! What are you doing?" I asked her in surprise as she started inspecting me everywhere.

"I'm making sure everything's all right with you! Are you okay? Did Nemu do anything weird to you? Kurotsuchi-Taichou makes her do weird things! Why didn't you tell me you're a Hollow and Bounto? Does it hurt anywhere? Are you injured?"

"Rangiku! I'm fine," I laughed and poked her stomach to make her stop—she let out a laugh and then got parental on me.

"Hey! Don't try to weasel your way out of this! Answer my questions!" She said in a stern, but pout-y way; I laughed again.

"Fine, fine; I'm all right, I don't have any injuries at the moment. I'm assuming Nemu was the girl from earlier—she tried to prepare me for operation, but Toushirou luckily stopped her. I didn't tell you guys because…well," I paused and exhaled.

"Because I was afraid of the consequences and didn't know how you guys would react,"

She pinched my cheek and pulled me up against the bars.

"Ouch! Rangiku! What are you—"

"We're your friends, Azumi-chan! There's no way we could stop loving you just because of what you are! Right Taichou?"

"Right." Toushirou struggled a response; she let go of my cheek.

"We're your allies and friends above all. We're here for you just like you're here for us, got it?"

I nodded, rubbing my cheek. "Love you guys too," I smiled.

"Good! Well, as much as I want to stay here with you, I've come to get Taichou for the meeting. We'll be back later to check in on you; don't do anything rash, Azumi-chan." Rangiku instructed.

"You got it!" I saluted with a smile.

"We'll be back," Toushirou said, turning around with Rangiku.

"Bye you guys, and thank you!" I said as they walked out.

I looked around my cell. There was the bed I was previously laying on, a chair, a toilet and sink, and that was about it. Strangely enough, it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. It wasn't like prison in the World of the Living. It was almost like a private room with a toilet…and bars.

"Well, it's better than all the other possibilities." I said to myself.

"I just wish I had my music player…"

I sighed.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

"Hitsugaya Toushirou and Matsumoto Rangiku," I announced at the entrance of the meeting hall.

The servant let Matsumoto and I in, and we both stood in the middle of all the other Taichou assembled. The servant shut the door behind us, and the Soutaichou tapped his cane on the floor.

"Let the meeting begin," he announced.

All small idle conversation stopped immediately as he continued.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, please explain the situation involving Takashita Azumi. State the facts and leave out your personal opinion." He ordered.

I proceeded to explain the situation as ordered. No one made a sound, everyone stood there silently as I spoke. I half-expected someone to have some sort of reaction to everything that's happened, but no one did. After I finished explaining, the Soutaichou spoke up again.

"And what are your opinions on the situation, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" He asked.

"Takashita Azumi is not an enemy. It is not her fault that she is what she is. She is not only thankful to the Soul Society for the protection given to her in recent months, but has also claimed on several occasions where her allegiance lies. I believe that we should continue to protect her from Aizen and the Espada. As I previously explained, if Aizen successfully takes her, then we not only have the Espada to deal with, but also a new hybrid army."

"And how do you know she isn't in league with Aizen? Hasn't she known about her true identity for an extended period of time and not informed you? How do you know she isn't Aizen's spy? Just because she claims to be an ally, doesn't mean it isn't a lie." Soi Fon said.

"With all due respect, Soi Fon-Taichou, you were not stationed with Hitsugaya-Taichou and I for the past few months. Takashita Azumi is an innocent young girl who did not know about any of this until she met us. Granted, she should have told us earlier about herself, but with everything that's happened previously with the Bounto, I think anyone would be hesitant to tell in her situation; she even stated she was afraid of being executed. But the fact that she stood up before the Soutaichou this morning and told him the truth must prove that she is innocent. If she was working for Aizen—"

"And how do you know that isn't part of Aizen's plan? Did you forget how he planned out the events involving Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo? How do you know he doesn't want us to know about Takashita Azumi?" Soi Fon interrupted Matsumoto.

"I don't know if that is what Aizen wants, but I know for a fact that Takashita Azumi is not in league with him or the Espada. Why would they attack her as well otherwise?" Matsumoto respectively shot back.

Before Soi Fon could reply, Kyoraku interjected.

"Soi Fon-Taichou, this Takashita Azumi sounds like an ordinary girl thrown into an unfortunate situation. I sincerely doubt that she has any malicious intent toward any of us. Regardless if Aizen wants us to know about her or not, it doesn't change the fact that if Aizen does get a hold of her, not only is she in immediate danger, but the rest of us will be as well—more so than we already are." Kyoraku explained.

"What about her inability to control herself in her Hollow form? Surely you realize that she poses danger toward all of us here in the Soul Society. Why don't you donate her for experimentation? I'm sure with some digging in her internal organs I can discover her true nature and how to suppress her animalistic tendencies—"

"No, your experimenting will do nothing; she just needs time to figure out how to control it. It's still very new to her," I cut off Kurotsuchi.

"Oh, Hitsugaya-Taichou," he laughed. "How _protective_ of you: it almost seems like she's more than just a mission to you." Kurotsuchi spat back at me.

Although I knew he was right, I had to make everyone believe that I didn't feel that way about it. I decided to ignore his comment and respond with the obvious.

"Takashita Azumi is still a person and should be treated as such. She deserves a chance to prove herself rather than be subjected to experimentation and execution," I shot him a side glance before returning my attention forward.

"I agree with Hitsugaya-Taichou, she deserves a chance to prove and speak for herself at the very least," Ukitake spoke up.

"But that still doesn't change the fact that she poses a threat to others. How long was it you said before she needs to feed? 7 days at the most? What do you plan on doing when she turns into a Hollow and feeds on whatever foolish soul crosses her path? Not to mention when she attacks and destroys countless people and buildings," Kurotsuchi stated—he was really starting to piss me off.

"We can figure out a way around it," I began. "The 7 days is the longest she's waited in between feedings, and again, she can feed on other Hollows rather than regular souls. We could set up a system—"

"For worthless vermin like her? It must be nice to not have any responsibilities to attend to, Hitsugaya-Taichou,"

"The last time I checked, it was my _responsibility_ to safe guard Takashita Azumi. You should realize the importance of the situ—"

"Enough!" The Soutaichou silenced Kurotsuchi and myself by tapping his cane roughly on the floor.

The Soutaichou snapped his fingers and a servant came in and bowed before him.

"Bring in Takashita Azumi," he ordered.

Immediately the servant flash-stepped out of the building, and within a few minutes opened the door with two other servants holding Takashita up by her arms.

"Here is Takashita Azumi as ordered, Soutaichou-Sama. We will take our leave." They dropped her on the floor by the door and—although she shouldn't have—Matsumoto went to Takashita's side and helped her up.

Takashita looked like a scared child. Her hands were cuffed around her back, and around her neck was a reiatsu-constricting collar. Matsumoto walked with her and let her stand in front of me before everyone else in the room. She didn't say anything, but she slightly bowed out of respect then straightened up like she did when she talked to the Soutaichou this morning.

"Takashita Azumi," the Soutaichou started.

Takashita looked like she could snap in half from how stiff she was.

"With your newfound abilities, how do you plan on using them?"

She took a moment to breathe—no doubt she was intimidated by all the suffocating reiatsu in the room. After one last breath, she answered.

"My adoptive parents were slaughtered in front of me by Aizen's order ultimately. I plan to use my power in any way I can to aid in his execution or imprisonment. Other than that, I have no desire to harm anyone, or anything else but Aizen and his associates."

The room fell silent. After a few moments of no one saying anything, the Soutaichou spoke up.

"And what about your feeding regiment?" He asked.

"I have discovered a way to mentally break free of the Hollow's control. Again, I am still working on it, and it is not perfected, but in due time I should be able to control it. As far as feeding goes, as long as there are Hollows, I can feed on them rather than on innocent souls; I just need to be provided the Hollows. My apologies for the request," she bowed again.

It was only because I was standing so close to her that I could see she was shaking. She was trying so hard to be strong and professional, and she was doing a good job with her acting. But internally she was ready to start panicking—anyone who knew her the way Matsumoto and I did could see that.

"That will be all from you, for the time being." The Soutaichou said.

He snapped his fingers and the servants were back again.

"Take her back to her cell." He ordered.

"Thank you for your time, all of you," Takashita bowed again and walked out with the servants.

Once the doors closed, the Soutaichou spoke again.

"Those who vote for Takashita Azumi's execution, raise your hand." The Soutaichou said.

Soi Fon and Kurotsuchi raised their hands.

"Those who vote for Takashita Azumi to stay guarded here in the Soul Society and to learn how to control herself to aid us in the upcoming battle with Aizen, raise your hand."

Myself, Matsumoto, Kyoraku, Ukitake, Komamura, and Unohana raised our hands. Kenpachi and Kuchiki both didn't vote.

"Then it is settled. Takashita Azumi is to stay here in the Soul Society to aid us in the near future. Hitsugaya-Taichou will take responsibility of her and make sure she is kept under control. Any rebellion or treacherous behavior from her will result in extreme consequence. Meeting adjourned." He tapped his cane again.

For the first time in months, relief washed over me, and I felt like I could finally breathe easy again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Takashita Azumi**

A few hours passed since I was summoned to the Taichou meeting. They scared me from how quickly they strapped cuffs on me and pulled me out of my cell like some sack of potatoes. That Soutaichou…he says 'jump' you say 'how high'...

I guess technically that's how it should be, but it doesn't make it any less intimidating. Some of those people in there were no joke either; I felt like I drowning and surrounded by a group of sharks. I'd hate to meet any of them in a bad mood in a dark alley—let's just put it that way.

I propped the chair against the barred window and looked outside. Now that I got a clearer view since I tried the smarter alternative, it looked nice out today; I noticed a small little patch of flowers at the edge of the grass that were in full bloom. Did the Soul Society have seasons? I stood there for a while, staring at the blades of grass until I heard someone coming.

I quickly put the chair back and sat on my bed, staring at the door to see who it was. Two guards entered the room and came up to my cell; I gulped.

"Takashita Azumi, by order of the Soutaichou you are hereby released into protective custody. Any unauthorized action will result in penalty."

"Woo hoo!" I shouted, interrupting the man.

"We will escort you to your destination." He finished.

I got up and quickly walked to the entrance of the cell. The man who spoke opened the door and the other handed me Yoru no Shedo as soon as I walked out of the cell.

"This way," they said in unison.

One walked ahead of me and the other behind me. I put on Yoru no Shedo immediately and then stuck my hands in my pockets as I followed them. We walked passed the meeting hall from earlier, and then finally through another hallway was the outside world. I looked around and saw that the buildings matched Rangiku's description; It was similar to old-style Japan, but a tad bit more modern in my opinion.

We walked for quite a few minutes, passing buildings with numbers in Kanji on them. It must have been the Squad numbers perhaps? I wanted to ask questions, but these two guards—or what have you—made me slightly uncomfortable, so I stayed quiet. Upon approaching the number 10, we ventured into the section of buildings. Several of the buildings were marked with the number 10 on them, and I assumed this was similar to a base of operations.

We went inside one of the buildings finally, and then came upon a door that said: Hitsugaya-Taichou. Beneath it was a taped on piece of paper that said: AND Matsumoto-Fukutaichou.

I nearly started jumping around and clapping like a dunce.

Before my escort even knocked, a familiar Taichou spoke.

"Come in."

The escort opened the door and took a knee with the other escort.

"Will that be all, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" one asked.

"Yes, you're excused." Toushirou replied.

"Thank you," they both flash-stepped away.

I peeked in and looked around the room.

"Azumi-chan! Hurry up and get in here, you 'treacherous traitor!'" Rangiku laughed.

"Well don't mind if I do!" I laughed back and walked in, shutting the door behind me.

Rangiku immediately hugged me like I was a stuffed animal.

"How does freedom feel after doin' time?" She smirked.

"Oh my goodness, it feels unbelievable. How many centuries have passed?" I giggled, poking her stomach.

"Rangiku, you and Toushirou are the best! You both know that, right?" I stopped tickling her and looked over at Toushirou, sitting at what looked like his desk.

His facial expression eased at my words, but quickly switched back into his serious expression.

"We appreciate the flattery, but you're not out of the woods just yet, Takashita." He said.

"So I heard that I'm under protective custody; was there anything else decided?" I asked, getting serious myself.

"Yes, that's right. You're under my supervision still, but everyone will be watching you. Some are suspicious that you are working along with Aizen, while others seemed to be in support of you. You have to prove your worth to the Soul Society and that you can be of assistance." Toushirou explained.

"Hey, anything you guys want, consider it done. I'm not about to go over to Aizen's side; I want you guys to know I'm on your side. Whatever I could do to prove that, let me know." I immediately responded.

"If only it were as simple as a test," Toushirou started.

"We'll work on getting others to trust you. In the meantime, you're required to stay here in the Soul Society for the time being. You'll be staying in the spare room of my home since you're not trusted to be far away from us. Matsumoto's house is next to mine as well, so if anything—"

"Aww, Azumi-chan gets her own room now? I bet you guys are going to miss being bed-mates," Rangiku smirked and chuckled.

"Matsumoto!" we both shouted in a blush at the same time.

She started belly laughing and I looked away, trying to will away the heat in my cheeks. Toushirou cleared his throat to try and get rid of the awkwardness.

"Continuing—let's talk about feeding. Once a week, we'll go to the World of the Living so you can feed off the Hollows there. If you feel any strange urges and feel like you might change into a Hollow, you need to tell me immediately. Understood?"

Rangiku was trying so hard not to lose it.

"Strange urges..." she stifled.

I could see the tears of laughter she tried to hold back.

"…just let him know immediately…oh, Taichou, how rash of you!"

Oh my God…she went there.

I violently coughed, face no doubt redder than a tomato.

"Matsumoto! That wasn't what I was implying! Don't twist my words, bakayaro!" Toushirou yelled at her, slamming a hand on the desk.

She lost it—she belly-laughed and had to hold herself up on the desk.

"Anyway," he hissed out.

"You know what I meant by that." He continued.

I looked at the white-haired Taichou; his face wasn't as red as mine, but definitely still somewhat red. I nodded quickly in response.

"You got it, dude!" I managed a grin to ease the tension.

"Good, and also, you need to keep training to control yourself in your Hollow form. Perhaps Yoru no Shedo could also help with that." He proposed.

"Yes, she's the one who originally showed me how to gain some control, but still—as I've said a thousand times—I'm still working on it." I subconsciously tugged at Yoru no Shedo on my right ear, finger pushing against the sharp tip of her.

"You'll be training at least once a day with Matsumoto supervising or maybe even myself. I have to catch up on a few months worth of paperwork that's piled up, but if I have time I'll try to help you in your training." He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in.

I looked behind him and saw stacks on stacks of paperwork behind him. Good God.

"Sounds good to me!" I smiled lightly.

"Can you guys give me a tour soon though? I want to know what the Soul Society is like! It doesn't have to be today, but it would be cool if it was soon! Maybe when I'm trusted a little more." I chuckled.

At that moment, Renji, Yumichicka, and Ikkaku slammed the door open and rushed into the office.

"Takashita!" Ikkaku yelled.

He took out his sheathed Zanpakuto and pointed it at me—I made a sheepish face and leaned back.

"What?" I shouted back.

"Renji told us your powerful—I wanna see it in action! Transform and let's spar for a bit!" Ikkaku's excited smile looked almost evil and I managed a strained chuckle.

"I can't just transform at will!" I countered him.

"That's what I told him, but he wouldn't listen to me!" Renji interjected.

"So let's make you transform! What triggers you? Blood right?" Ikkaku started taking out his Zanpakuto from its sheath.

"Hey, stop it!" I slammed it shut into its sheath.

"I'm trying to get people to like me; if I attack them, they definitely won't like me and I'll be executed!" I said sheepishly.

"Yeah, baldy! Leave Taichou's little Azumi-chan alone!" Rangiku got in between us.

"What do you mean 'Taichou's Azumi-chan?" I yelled back.

I could hear Toushirou sighing in the background, and I could've sworn he at one point said 'why me?' as well.

"Who you calling baldy? You know it's shaved, Matsumoto!" Ikkaku countered back.

"Oh calm down! Just because you cant grow any hair doesn't mean you have to take it out on poor little Azumi-chan," she smirked.

"Why you—!"

"Well isn't it loud and vibrant in here!" an unfamiliar voice said.

"Hello, Kyoraku-Taichou, Ukitake-Taichou," Renji said with a slight bow.

Two older gentlemen—not too older—walked into the room with smiles on their faces. Even if Renji hadn't have said it, I already knew these guys were Taichou-rank just based off their looks.

One had brown hair and a straw hat on with a pink haori on top of his uniform, while the other had white hair and a similar haori to Toushirou's on.

"Hi there, Azumi-chan, I'm Ukitake Juushirou," the one with long, white hair said, outstretching a hand.

I took it and he gripped my hand softly as I shook his hand.

"V-Very nice to meet you, Ukitake-Taichou," I stuttered out.

Although he seemed very nice, the fact that they were Taichou scared me.

"The pleasure is all mine," he smiled warmly and released my hand.

The other Taichou then took my hand.

"Kyoraku Shunsui; nice to meet you, young lady."

He smiled, and then with absolutely no warning, pulled me up to his face. I didn't really know how to even react—it happened so fast.

"H-Hi! C-Can I help you?" I stuttered out.

He studied my face and smiled warmly. He let go of my hand and patted my head.

"You're so cuuuuute Azuuumi-chan! It's no wonder Hitsugaya-Taichou likes you!"

If there was ever a moment when everyone froze from a shocking sentence, this was definitely it.

Rangiku busted up laughing.

"Kyoraku-Taichou, you're the best! I knew I was right!"

Oh my God this was _so embarrassing._

"K-Kyoraku! It isn't like that!" Toushirou yelled back in response—he was probably more flustered than I was because he actually knew the people.

"Y-Yeah! Toushirou's right! There's nothing going on between us!" I puffed up, trying to make my face look determined.

Kyoraku just laughed. Somehow I couldn't be mad at the guy, he had this weird 'innocent-child-telling-the-truth' vibe that I just couldn't break through.

"Oooh and on a first name basis with Hitsugaya-Taichou! Young love is so sweet!" he tipped his hat down and grinned.

"I—uh, well, I mean," were all the words that I could struggle out.

Everyone started laughing. As embarrassed as I was though, I was glad this was happening. It's times like these that made good memories. I smiled awkwardly while Toushirou fumed.

"Teme! What the Hell do you all want? There's work to be done here!" Toushirou concluded, slamming a hand against his desk; I laughed in response.

Suddenly, a book came flying through the door and hit Kyoraku right on the back of his head.

"Looks like you're causing problems again, aren't you, Taichou?" A woman with her hair neatly pinned up and wearing glasses entered the room.

"Ah, my beautiful Nanao-chan! There you are!" Kyoraku smiled sheepishly.

"And here _you_ are, causing trouble! My apologies for my Taichou," She bowed at Toushirou.

"Nanao-chan: this is Takashita Azumi! Azumi-chan, meet my lovely Fukutaichou, Nanao-chan!" Kyoraku smiled and grabbed our hands and put them together.

"It's nice to meet you," I smiled, shaking her hand.

"The same to you," she let the corners of her lips creep up in a small smile.

"See, Nanao-chan? Didn't I say Hitsugaya-Taichou's girlfriend was just adorable?"

"That's it!"

Toushirou got up, Zanpakuto in hand, cheeks furiously red and eyes ablaze. I just blushed and laughed.

"Okay, okay, Hitsugaya-Taichou! We mainly came to meet Azumi-chan! We're looking forward to working with you and getting to know you. If you need any assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to ask us!" Ukitake smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"Sure, sure! And same goes to you both as well! I'm not sure how much I can do, but I'll do my best!" I grinned.

"Okay, come on everyone, let's let them be for a little while," Ukitake smiled and ushered everyone out of the room.

"This doesn't change anything, Takashita! I still want to fight with you one day!" Ikkaku proclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" I smirked and waved.

Everyone left the room and Ukitake shut the door behind him. Toushirou and I in unison exhaled, embarrassment apparent in both of our faces. Rangiku giggled at us and took a seat on top of what was probably her own desk.

"Matsumoto, here," Toushirou opened his drawer and took out a key.

"Go show her where she's staying." Toushirou grabbed paperwork from on top of one of the stacks and sat down with it.

"Sure! Let's go, Azumi-chan!" Rangiku smiled and grabbed his key.

"Remember that wherever you go you need to have an escort with you, so don't go wandering off just yet." Toushirou said as he wrote something down on the paper.

"Okay, sounds good, but what do I do if I'm by myself and need to get a hold of you guys? I'm assuming only you two can escort me, right?" I asked.

"Matsumoto will give you one of the headsets we use when we're in the World of the Living. We'll keep one on us at all times, as should you. There shouldn't be a time when you're alone, so it shouldn't be an issue, but in case." He replied.

"Sounds good to me!" I said. "So…listen before going to my new room," I started, lowly mumbling.

"Is it time to eat yet?" I smiled sheepishly.

My stomach was literally eating itself at that point; I hadn't eaten anything at all.

"We'll grab something after we get you settled," Rangiku smiled.

"Thank God!" I grinned excitedly.

We walked out of the office and past a couple buildings. Rangiku explained as we walked what every building was and what the responsibility was for the Shinigami who worked there. We came to the section where all the squad barracks were, and off to the far left toward the very edge of the section were two separate buildings. One was a little bigger than the other, but they were both definitely nicer than the other buildings.

"We're here!" Rangiku smiled as she walked to the larger one on the left.

"This is Taichou's house," she started to say while she fiddled with his key.

"My house is the one next door." She smiled.

"Say whaaaaaat," I dragged out.

"That's awesome; perks!" We both laughed.

She opened the door and ushered me in before her.

"I'll let Taichou show you around since it's _his_ house after all—your room is this way,"

We walked past what looked like a living room—I didn't get a very good look since it was dark—and turned down a hallway to the right. We passed what looked like a bathroom, and then reached the end of the hallway to a closed door.

"Here ya go, Azumi-chan! Get comfortable!" Rangiku opened it and motioned me in.

I walked in and looked around. There was a mattress with some sheets, a desk with a chair, a window, and a dresser. It looked a bit dusty, but nothing a little 'TLC' couldn't fix.

"You're actually pretty lucky; since you're staying with a Taichou you get a mattress rather than a Tatami mat which is traditional. Only Taichou and Fukutaichou get mattresses." Rangiku said, leaning against the door frame.

"Looks like I lucked out!" I grinned and jumped on the mattress.

There was a knock on the front door, and Rangiku went to go answer it; I could hear their conversation.

"Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, here are the uniforms you've requested," Someone said.

"Thank you," she replied.

I heard the door shut and in moments she was back in the room. Rangiku set a sack on the bed next to me.

"I got some uniforms for you, Azumi-chan! You'd stick out like a sore thumb, otherwise," she laughed and opened up the bag.

There were seven uniforms in the sack—all identical of course—seven pairs of socks, and one pair of sandals. At least I had a set of clothes for each day of the week, that would solve a lot of problems.

"Thanks Rangiku! I appreciate it!" I smiled, holding one out.

"Wow, you'd think I was a Shinigami or something," I said with an added sarcastic giggle.

"Hey, maybe one day!" She smiled.

"Can I at least add my own touches to this like you do? This is waaaaay too plain; so much that it bothers me. Also, I don't do well with sleeves..." I explained.

"I don't see why not!" She shrugged.

"After dinner, we'll go to the store and get you some essentials, and maybe throw in a few fashionable items," she winked.

"Sounds good to me!" I smiled.

"All right, well, get that on and then we'll head over to get some food!" Rangiku walked out and shut the door behind her.

Before changing, I took a moment to sit on the bed.

I really lucked out on this whole situation.

Being released under protective custody instead of just being executed was obviously huge. I owe it all to Toushirou and Rangiku; without them, who knows where I'd be. If I hadn't have met them when I did, and gotten to know them when I did, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd be strapped down to Aizen's experimentation table and used to do his bidding. Really, if I thought about it, I owed my life to Toushirou and Rangiku. I laid on my back staring up at the ceiling.

What in the world could I possibly do to repay them?

-[×]-

The rest of the night flew by. We went over to the 'cafeteria' and got our food to-go since at this point everything was still so fresh about the situation that I didn't want to scare anyone. We ate back at the office, then Rangiku and I went to the store as she said. After we got just some essential items—since I had absolutely nothing—we went back to the office.

"Shirou-chan, are you listening to me?" said an unfamiliar female voice.

We were right outside the office door, about to walk in when we heard the voice. It was already pretty late, who would come to visit at this hour?

I looked up at Rangiku; she didn't say anything.

She opened the door and we walked in—her in front and me behind her.

"Oh, Momo-chan! It's been a while!" Rangiku dropped the bags and greeted her.

"Hi Matsumoto-Fukutaichou! It _has_ been quite some time! How have you been?" She smiled.

While Rangiku answered her, I took a moment to study her.

She had brown hair with bangs and her hair was pulled back into a bun with a light blue cloth covering it. She was very petite, a little bit taller than myself, and had a very innocent face to her. But that name—Momo—I hadn't heard that name before. But if she's sitting here with Toushirou and can get away with calling him 'Shirou-chan,' then she must be an important person.

"Momo-chan, meet Azumi-chan!" Rangiku smiled and gestured me forward.

I set down my bags then leaned forward and stuck out my hand.

"Takashita Azumi, nice to meet you," I smiled.

She lightly took my hand and shook it.

"Hinamori Momo, nice to meet you as well, Takashita -san!" She smiled back.

Ah, this was Hinamori—that made sense.

I looked over at Toushirou—he was just jotting something down on a piece of paper. He didn't look up, but I could tell that he knew I was looking at him.

"Did you get the stuff you needed, Takashita?" He asked, still writing.

"Yep, I should be all set to go," I replied lightly.

"Have you been here doing paperwork this whole time, Toushirou?"

"Yes, what else would I be doing?" He replied with a huff.

"Oh!" Hinamori suddenly said in a 'shocking' manner before I could reply.

"You're _her_ ," she said.

I shrugged.

"Um, sure?" I choked out a chuckle and half-smiled.

"I have to go, Shirou-chan, see you guys later!" Hinamori got up and without making contact, and walked toward the door.

"Hinamori, are you okay?" Toushirou asked her.

"Yep! I just forgot about something!" She turned to us and forced a smile.

"Nice meeting you!" She said, then she exited and shut the door.

A few moments passed with all of us silent. We all stared at the door and then I took a seat on the couch.

"Sorry," I said, twiddling my thumbs.

"I don't know what I did, but I'm pretty sure I offended her somehow. I'll apologize next time I see her." I forced out.

In truth, I had _nothing_ to apologize for, and honestly, if it were anyone else I probably wouldn't apologize or anything. But because this girl seemed to be close to the two of them, I felt obligated to try and get along with her.

"Don't be, you didn't do anything," Toushirou said.

"Yeah, Azumi-chan, don't worry about it." Rangiku also commented.

I shrugged in response.

"Well, it's been quite a day; I'm going to go home. See you both in the morning!" Rangiku got up and walked toward the door.

Toushirou and I both bid her goodnight as she walked out the door. A few minutes passed and I finally spoke up.

"I should've went with her since you still need to work. I got all this stuff to put away and have to clean up the room since it's a little dusty." I said, looking at Toushirou.

Toushirou got up and stretched his arms out.

"I need a break, I'll take you over and help you clean it up a bit. I'll take some of my paperwork with me and finish it for the night at home. That room has remained untouched for years; my apologies. It was the best I could do with short notice."

"Oh, no worries! I'm just glad I have a room!" I shrugged again.

We left the office and got to Toushirou's house fairly quickly. Toushirou unlocked the door and let me in before he went in. We walked straight into my room and I dropped the bags, while he turned on the lights.

"Have you seen the rest of the house?" He asked; I shook my head.

"All right, come on." He said.

He had a two bed, two bath house with a living room, kitchen, and office. It was definitely old fashioned compared to my house, but it made sense since the rest of the Soul Society was old fashioned. Hell, I was just thankful they'd advanced to mattresses. The house in itself was very well kept up; I mean, with a personality like Toushirou's, I can't really see there being any clutter or mess.

"All right, I'll go get some cleaning supplies," he said after the tour when we got back to my room.

He got some and then came back in and started cleaning the dresser. He sprayed it a few times, and started wiping it. I opened up the curtains and shook the dust off them.

The view outside was something I could definitely get used to.

I stood there in awe; right outside was a beautiful little courtyard that was very up kept as well. The moon was out tonight, and glowed through the few trees onto the grassy area and wooden porch.

"Wow, I'm loving the view," I commented.

Toushirou shut the drawer he finished cleaning and walked over.

"It is nice, isn't it?" He added.

"The luxury of being a Taichou," I elbowed at him.

"I suppose, but anyone in my Squad can go out there. It's not specifically reserved for just me." he said matter-of-factly.

"So what is so luxurious about being a Taichou besides being the boss and getting a nice house to yourself?" I chuckled.

"Nothing really," he shrugged.

"Mhm, suuure it's nothing really," I teased.

I walked over to the bed and started undoing the sheets.

"Mind helping me with this?" I asked from the other side of the bed.

He walked over and untucked the covers from the other side and held them up. We, in unison, shook off the comforter and all the dust came off of it onto the floor.

"I bet you're stoked," I half-smiled; he looked at me in a slightly confused way.

"About?"

"About getting your own bed to yourself. You don't have to share with me anymore, plus it's been forever since you've been home. You must be excited," I said, smoothing out the covers on my side.

"I suppose; I'm sure you feel the same." He replied, smoothing out his side.

"Nah, not really," I took one of the pillows and bashed it against my legs.

"Why?" He asked, grabbing the other pillow.

I waved my hand around to will the dust away.

"I'm strangely used to sleeping next to you. I honestly don't think I'll be able to sleep by myself now," I put the pillow back and dusted my legs off.

Toushirou didn't say anything, he just dusted off the pillow with his hands and put it back. It was then that I realized that I probably came off uncomfortably.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to make it awkward or anything," I blushed and walked away to the desk that needed to be cleaned.

I grabbed another rag, then sprayed the desk with the disinfectant and started wiping it. Toushirou walked back over to the dresser and opened another drawer to clean it.

"No, it's fine," he started saying as he grabbed the disinfectant and sprayed it.

I felt like he wanted to say something more, but he didn't; he just dryly cut off his sentence. Maybe my intuition was wrong.

We finished cleaning the rest of the room, and I started to put my new clothes and belongings away.

"Thanks for your help cleaning up," I smiled.

"No problem," he replied.

"I'm going to go back to work for a bit; I really need to get some more done,"

He looked so tired—I didn't want him to go. But it didn't feel right for me to object; the reason why he was so behind was because of babysitting me for the past few months.

"Oh, okay Toushirou, I'll see you later then," I smiled and shut the dresser drawer.

He walked to the doorway and turned around before leaving.

"If you need anything, call me." He said.

"You got it," I saluted.

He stared out the window to the side of me.

"And if you can't sleep, let me know..."

He looked like he struggled to say it, but it still had me blushing like a fool.

"Thanks, Toushirou," I smiled as he walked out of the room.


	22. Chapter 22

"Master,"

I blinked my eyes open to a darkness almost equivalent to when they were shut.

I felt something light and stiff stuck to the back of my head as I sat up. I reached back to grab it and it crunched into little pieces in my hand—a dead leaf. As my eyes adjusted, I started making out faint objects all around me; something was so very familiar about this place.

I heard a demonic sounding screech in the distance, and immediately knew where I was.

This was Yoru no Shedo's domain.

I got up and looked around; squinting my eyes from the lack of moonlight. I walked over to one of the trees I was able to make out and leaned against it. I could hear crickets chirping almost in unison, and leaves crunching softly in the distance. I heard a soft, choked yelp with a bunch of leaves rustling loudly at once—it must have been Yoru no Shedo successfully hunting. I walked toward where the sound came from for a few minutes, and when I saw nothing after several moments, I finally called out.

"Yoru no Shedo, show yourself!" I shouted.

No response.

I tried looking up into the trees, but still couldn't make anything out.

"Where are you?" I shouted again.

Suddenly, sharp talons dug lightly into my right shoulder—scaring the be-jesus out of me.

"Must you be so loud, Master?"

I turned my head and got face full of feathers in return. I lifted my arm up squarely in front of me, and Yoru no Shedo hopped onto it from my shoulder. I hadn't noticed just how big she really was, and not to mention how regal. She stared up into my eyes; her form so incredibly still to the point that it frightened me. She was so entrancing that I almost became lost in those mystical orbs of hers—it took serious resolve to force myself to speak rather than let my wandering mind drift any longer.

"Yoru no Shedo, why have you brought me here?" I asked her; she blinked before her reply.

"You are now my Master; it is time you learned how to utilize me. It is necessary in order for the two of us to work together efficiently."

"I see," I replied rather quickly.

"Sounds good to me."

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

The sun beaming into the guest room's window woke me. I inhaled deeply and stretched out while blinking my eyes to help myself get up. I looked over to see Takashita still sleeping.

The fact that I was perfectly comfortable here with her instead of my own bed was beyond me. This girl had the power to make me do things without really thinking them through. If it were anyone else, this wouldn't have happened; the infuriating part was that I couldn't understand why. Hinamori and I slept next to each other when we were kids—sure—but as adults, never. If Hinamori asked me, I probably would say no. But Takashita…I've only known her for a few months, yet here I am.

" **Quit 'beating around the bush' as they say,"** Hyourinmaru spoke up.

" _It's too early, Hyourinmaru,"_ I mentally replied.

He didn't say anything else, just chuckled and faded away.

I exhaled and put my face in my palm. If he was talking about what I thought he was talking about, I was in for it.

Takashita sat up quickly with a gasp, blinking and looking around like a lost puppy. It made me slightly jump back from how fast it was.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

She looked at me for a few seconds, and exhaled deeply.

"Yeah, sorry." She laid back down with a hand on her forehead, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, talk about a restless slumber."

"Could have fooled me," I responded.

"Hey Toushirou, does Hyourinmaru ever invade your dreams?" She asked suddenly.

"More like my every waking thought," I replied; Hyourinmaru laughed.

"He used to, but generally we communicate while I'm awake. It's rare now that he communicates with me while I'm sleeping. Did Yoru no Shedo do that?" I asked.

"Yeah, she did. It was a very, _informative_ dream to say the least. I just wish that I would've gotten a little more actual sleep out of it rather than running for my life the entire time." She exhaled.

"That's unfortunate; I hope tonight you get some rest." I said, lifting the covers and getting up.

"So what's the plan today, Toushirou?" Takashita asked.

"Generally, Sunday is our only day off, but there is so much work to be done that I have to work anyway. I doubt Matsumoto will show up for work, so if anything she can be the one to supervise you today." I told her as I cracked my back.

She sat up and looked at me.

"Is there anything that I can help with? I know that you're so behind because of babysitting me for the past few months, so if I could do any of the paperwork, please let me do it."

Well, I wasn't about to take no for an answer with how much paperwork I had.

"There might be some that you could help me with, I'll have to check on it when we get to the office." I said as she got up.

"Sounds good!" She replied smiling.

"Do I have time for a quick shower and to get ready?" She asked; I nodded.

"Okay cool, I'll go hop in the shower then." She walked out of the room and I heard the bathroom door close seconds later.

I made the bed and left to get ready myself. After about 30 minutes, we both finished getting ready and headed out to get some breakfast before going to the office.

We went into the main dining hall and decided to sit there and eat rather than getting our food to go like we did last night. Matsumoto happened to be there—which was shocking because of how early it was. She came over and sat next to Takashita—who sat across from me—and started eating with us.

I noticed that even though there were a lot of people in the room, our table was the only one that others didn't sit at. I liked the fact that everyone left us alone, but it wasn't due to the reason I would have liked it to be.

They all stared at Takashita.

Granted, with not a lot of people knowing—especially the lower ranked squad members—she probably seemed pretty intimidating even with her child-like attributes. Well, if she was going to clear her name then everyone was going to have to deal with her being around.

"Good morning, Shirou-chan, Rangiku-chan, Takashita-san," Hinamori interrupted my thoughts.

I hadn't noticed her approach—was I _that_ lost in thought?

The 3 of us all returned the greeting, and Hinamori bent down to my ear, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked in a whisper.

"Sure," I replied.

"Excuse us," Hinamori said with one of the most forced smiles I'd ever seen.

Luckily I was already done eating, so I grabbed my plate and stood up.

"Matsumoto, when you guys are finished eating, bring Takashita to the office please." I told her.

"You got it, Taichou!" Rangiku flashed a smile before she took another bite.

I turned around and walked back toward the kitchen area to drop off my plate, Hinamori following suit. We walked out of the dining hall and back toward the Squad 10 area.

"Everything okay, Hinamori?" I asked.

The way she twiddled her thumbs reminded me of Takashita.

"Yes, everything's fine, Shirou-chan,"

"Its Hitsugaya-Taichou, Hinamori," I corrected her.

There wasn't any anger in how I said it, she just needed to remember is all.

"Yes, yes, Hitsugaya-Taichou," she started.

"I wanted to ask you about Takashita-san."

I had a feeling that Hinamori wanted to ask me about her, but I really hoped it wasn't for the reason that lingered in the back of my mind.

"What about her?" I asked.

"Do you really think she is what she says she is?" She asked.

"Yes I do. Not just because I've seen it in action, but also because it's a bit of a stretch to make up—even for her." I answered.

"Oh, I see." She replied.

She started walking a little slower, and so I slowed down my pace to match.

"Why?" I asked.

"I have trouble believing it." She answered.

"Well, if you ever see it, you'll have no doubt in your mind about it." I stated nonchalantly.

"I think she's lying." Hinamori stopped walking.

I turned around to look at her. She looked almost angry, which was such a rare emotion for her. You could push Hinamori around, and even call her names, but she still wouldn't be mad at you. The only thing I've ever seen her angry about was…

"Why do you think that?" I asked.

"B-Because, Aizen-sama wouldn't—"

And there it was.

I knew it.

I interrupted her before she could even finish her sentence.

"Hinamori,"

She sharply inhaled at me cutting her off.

"Aizen—the _traitor_ who has threatened to kill us with his Espada—made Takashita. There is no doubt that what Takashita is was originally because of him. Whether you like it or not, that is the truth, Hina—"

"You're infatuated with her, aren't you, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" She cut me off, tears rolling down her cheeks.

I stood there shocked.

Hinamori never snapped back at me.

"You are, aren't you? That's why you'll believe anything she says, Hitsugaya-Taichou. That's why you'll let her call you just by your first name, isn't it? When I, the person who found you and grew up with you can't even be allowed to call you that!" She said, the volume in her tone rising with each word.

"Hinamori,"

"She may very well be what she says, but it isn't Aizen-sama's doing! He would never do some—"

"That's enough, Hinamori." I said rather loudly and sternly.

I hated being like this to her, but she had to stop this nonsense.

"Hinamori-Fukutaichou, if you are going to stay here serving in the Gotei 13, then your behavior needs to change immediately. There is no denying the situation with Aizen, Tousen, and Ichimaru—they are traitors and your enemies. I don't ever want to hear you call him 'Aizen-sama' ever again. The next time I hear it, you will risk imprisonment for treacherous behavior." I said with not a drop of leniency in my tone.

"As for Takashita Azumi; whether you agree with it or not, the fact of the matter is that Aizen made her. If you don't want to be in her presence, then don't be; the relationships you have with others are your own personal choice. As for the infatuation you claim I have with her, you are incorrect—there is nothing going on between Takashita and I. She is my responsibility that has carried over from the World of the Living and that is it. For you to claim something so irrational because of your own feelings is childish."

"B-But S-Shirou-chan, she's—"

"That's enough, Hinamori!"

For Takashita's sake and my own, people including Hinamori had to understand that there was nothing going on between us.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask, Hinamori-Fukutaichou?" I asked; she shook her head.

"Then, I'll be on my way." I turned around and started walking away.

I could hear Hinamori sobbing behind me.

As much as I felt terrible about having to talk down to her like that _again_ , she forced me. She needed to stop believing that Aizen was innocent. After everything that's happened that _he_ caused—the physical harm he induced to her herself—she's such a fool to believe he's innocent. Her belief will eventually lead her to become a traitor herself. I can't stand here and let her talk about Aizen so freely any longer. Until she understood, I'd have to be rough on her—as much as it personally panged at my heart.

I got to the office and started assessing the stacks of paper behind my desk.

Takashita could start off by organizing all of it for me—that would take her a good portion of the day. I took a light stack of it and placed it on my desk. I grabbed a pen out of the drawer and started filling out the first piece of paper. As much as I tried to focus, I couldn't help but wander off to the scene that just happened with Hinamori, in particularly what she said about my relationship with Takashita.

Hinamori thought I was infatuated with Takashita? She only met her yesterday—was I that different around her that people would think that? Granted, Hinamori was right about the name-calling. I shouldn't let Takashita call me by my first name while others weren't allowed. But, why was it that I allowed her to? I can see why Hinamori would be upset about it. After everything that's happened between us, it should only be Hinamori that can call me by my first name or even childish nick-name.

Something about Takashita saying it was comforting, and it infuriated me that I couldn't quite figure out why. Do I actually have feelings for Takashita Azumi like Hinamori says?

" **Think about it, Master. Why else would you care so much about her? To allow her to be so physically close to you, to attach to her emotionally, and to allow her to interfere with your judgments? To risk getting in trouble with the Soul Society and to vow that you would always protect her? If that isn't love, then I wouldn't know what is."**

Hyourinmaru made a valid point—a scary, realistic, and shocking point. He was right.

I had feelings for Takashita.

Looking back on everything that's happened, it was the only thing that made sense. When she said certain things—or even did certain things—I'd be thrown into an uncharted territory of unwanted emotions I knew nothing about. Even through all the lying and excuses, I let it all go whereas normally, I would take serious action. I always thought that if I did 'like' or 'love' _anyone_ , it would Hinamori, but she has never made me feel these emotions in all the years I've known her. The only one who has ever been able to do that, is Takashita.

" **Don't forget to add jealously into your list of unwanted emotions."** Hyourinmaru added.

He was right; that bastard kid Hideki. Just thinking about him and the way he was all over Takashita made me sick and infuriated. I could live without seeing him ever again, and if I could successfully keep Takashita away from him, the better. Thank the Gods we're in the Soul Society.

But aside from Hideki, what the Hell was I supposed to do now? 'Love'—as disturbing as that word is—is prohibited in this situation. First of all, a Taichou having a significant other in the first place is rarely accepted due to the fact that an enemy could use it against them. And if they were indeed allowed to have a significant other, they would either have to be a Shinigami of equivalent rank and a different squad, or a regular soul from the Rukongai. Takashita met neither of the requirements. Leave it to me to put myself in a difficult situation.

But another issue was, did Takashita even have feelings for me? Granted, it all wouldn't work out in the end anyway, but still, curiosity was now getting the better of me.

Suddenly, Matsumoto and Takashita walked into the office.

"Hi Taichou!" Matsumoto said vibrantly as ever as she walked in.

I nodded in response and tried not to look up, but failed.

Takashita sat on the couch, one leg resting partially on the couch while the other was touching the ground. She didn't say anything—which was rare. Normally whenever Matsumoto was being bubbly and obnoxious, Takashita was too right along side her. But no, she was just sitting there staring off into the distance—something was definitely off.

"Well, Taichou, since it's my day off, I'm gonna go run some errands and what-not. Azumi-chan said she was going to help you work today, so I'll be back to check up on you guys later. Don't work too hard on your day off, okay Taichou?" Matsumoto smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you later on then," I replied, grabbing another piece of paper.

"Okie dokie! Bye, Taichou! Bye, Azumi-chan!" Matsumoto smiled and waved.

"See ya later!" Takashita forced a smile and waved.

As soon as Matsumoto left, Takashita got up and walked over to my desk.

"So what can I help you with? _Hitsugaya-Taichou_ ," she strained to say.

I looked up at her confused. Why now would she call me that? Don't tell me…

"What happened, Takashita?" I asked—I didn't want to assume my thoughts were correct just yet.

"Nothing." She replied looking away.

I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms.

"I don't believe you." I stated.

She huffed and crossed her arms.

"I bumped into Hinamori,"

Great.

"And?" What did she say?" I prompted.

"Well, she was on her knees in the middle of the hallway, crying. Rangiku and I stopped to see if she was okay, and when I— _specifically I_ —put a hand on her shoulder, she swatted me away and yelled at me."

I pinched the crease of my nose and sighed loudly as she continued.

"She said that I'm a liar and that _Aizen-Sama_ would never do what he did to me. That the only reason you believe me is because you're in love with me. Hence, why only I can say your name."

" _Damn it, Hinamori."_

I combed my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm more trouble than I thought I was," she shook her head and stared at her hand on my desk.

"No, you're not the problem here. Hinamori has always been infatuated with Aizen, and when he rebelled against us, she was the only one who believed that it was all a lie—that he was doing everything for a greater purpose. He even stabbed her—she's lucky to even be alive, yet even so she still believes that he's innocent. I told her that she needs to stop thinking that he's innocent, and I put her in her place as a Taichou. Hence why she was an emotional wreck in the hallway. Evidently, she disagrees with the fact that Aizen made you. I'm sorry that she said all those things to you," I looked up at Takashita, who was still staring at her hand.

"But there is something that needs to be addressed, now that it's been brought up."

She looked at me and I continued.

"You need to start calling me Hitsugaya-Taichou. If others think there is something going on between us, then it could be problematic."

She frowned at the request, and after a few minutes finally spoke up.

"I agree, but only in public." She crossed her arms.

"You know I hate honorifics, plus it's weird to call you anything but your first name at this point."

I sighed.

"I guess," I replied.

" **You mean, you** _ **know—**_ **you** _ **know**_ **that's okay." Hyourinmaru** chimed in.

" _Way to rub it in."_ I commented mentally.

"Well good, I'm glad we're on the same page!" Takashita smiled.

"As for Hinamori, please don't say anything to her. I know she's very close to you, so I would hate to cause a problem between the two of you." She wandered back toward my paperwork.

"No guarantees; what she said to you was completely out of line. Again, I apologize for her behavior." I said.

"No, it's no problem. I'll get her to like me eventually." Takashita smiled.

"So what can I get started on?" She asked as she tapped on the paperwork.

"Grab a stack," I said, getting up and grabbing one myself.

We put the stacks on Matsumoto's desk—that Matsumoto moved in here yesterday so she could 'help out' with Takashita—and once I explained to her what I needed her to do, she sat down and started.

It was silent for a while; she would only ask an occasional question if there was something on the paper that confused her. Generally, she seemed good at dealing with paperwork; she was very focused and very detailed when she did ask questions, which was something that I liked.

After a few hours passed, she spoke up about something non-work related.

"Thanks, Toushirou,"

"For?" I asked.

"For letting me call you by your first name, even if it is _only_ in private." I didn't say anything, and then she continued.

"It shows that no matter what, you consider me one of your friends—it means a lot to me." She smiled warmly.

In truth, I didn't know how to respond without sounding completely out of character. Now that I started recognizing exactly what was going with myself, I was almost intimidated to respond to her—which was irritating because that's not the type of person I am.

"You're welcome," was all I could muster.

She chuckled in response.

"Don't sound so strained!" She laughed again.

"It's just interesting that my first name _specifically_ is so important to you, even though honorifics aren't. I wonder if it's the same for everyone." I stated as I side glanced at her.

Was that a blush?

"Well," she started, looking back down at the paperwork.

"It's like I said, it's important in establishing a friendship; it shows how comfortable you are with a person. I'm generally comfortable with everyone, but some more than others. The ones I'm not too comfortable with—or if it's just catchy—I generally call by their last name. Whereas ones I _am_ comfortable with I call by their first names." She explained.

"So then you consider me to be uncomfortable with you because I call you by your last name?" I asked.

She paused what she was doing for a second, assessed my question, and then resumed.

"Well, kind of, but not everyone thinks the way I do. So, I mean, I don't know." She stammered out.

"You called me by my first name once and it was kind of shocking. It did mean a lot to me, but it was only in a situation where I was being a cry baby, so it was totally time appropriate. But, I mean, it's up to you; you can call me what you want. I'll leave it up to your discretion." She said, fiddling the paperwork while making sure to not make eye contact with me.

I scribbled on my piece of paper for a moment.

"Well, how about this; since its so important to you—even though you're trying to act like it isn't—the same rule I'm giving you will be the same rule that I use for you. In public, address me as Hitsugaya-Taichou. In private, you can call me just Toushirou. As for you, I'll call you Takashita in public, and Azumi in private. Sound fair to you?" I asked.

Even a moron would be able to tell that now she was definitely blushing. Was what I said really that embarrassing for her?

"' _ **Embarrassing'**_ **isn't the right word, Master. I would say that's flattery more than anything else. Who would've known you were smooth when it came to females,"** Hyourinmaru laughed.

And now I was the one blushing.

I shook my head and stared back down at my paperwork to will away the warmth in my face. I should've thought my last sentence out more before I opened my big mouth. What the Hell was wrong with me?

"Sure, Toushirou, that sounds fine to me," she said.

It sounded like she was trying to control the pitch of her voice; it almost made me laugh at how awkward it sounded. I smiled lightly.

"Then it's settled, _Azumi_." I said smirking.

She huffed in response.

Another couple of minutes passed and she spoke up again.

"Hey, Toushirou,"

"Hmm?" I responded.

"What would happen to you if others besides Hinamori start to think, that, well,"

I looked up at her—she stared at the desk, face scrunched up like she was having a hard time processing something.

"Start to think?" I tried to help.

She took a deep breath and stuttered out.

"S-Start to think that you like me, _more_ than a f-friend?"

I certainly wasn't expecting that to come out of her. I—of course—blushed in response, much to my dismay. She didn't look at me, she just kept staring at her desk as if it were some type of television screen entrancing her.

I successfully replied quickly.

"Then they would think that everything I've said about you is a lie because I want to keep you alive."

She looked up at me and I continued.

"They would think that I'm blinded by emotions and trying to harbor a possible fugitive. I would not be trusted to safeguard you, or in an extreme case even perform active duties as a Taichou. It could also be problematic for you, most likely leading everyone to believe that you really are an enemy." I concluded.

It was the cold, hard truth.

I had given it a lot of earlier, but now saying it directly to Azumi was a sharp reminder for me that even though I had feelings for her, things would probably never work. The right thing to do, would be to shove whatever feelings I had away. But now that I actually started to acknowledge them, this was going to be easier said than done—I already regret making the decision.

"Oh, I see." She said.

"Well then, we'll just have to prove that we're just good friends only! Right, Toushirou?" She forced a smile my way.

Anyone could tell she was trying hard to seem nonchalant; could it really be that…

I didn't even want to finish that thought.

"Right," I responded, cutting myself off.

How the Hell did I end up in this situation?


	23. Chapter 23

**Takashita Azumi**

"Shred the sins of the flesh, Yoru no Shedo,"

On cue, Yoru no Shedo glowed on my earlobes and put herself into both of my hands in her weapon form. This was the first time I'd ever seen her in this form on the outside of her domain.

As a weapon, she was a pair of tonfa with four blades total on each one that resembled her talons.

She was all silver with a black handle grip, and on the end of the grip was one of the blades that pointed inward, but forward. I wasn't quite sure exactly how to use it, but eventually I'd figure it out.

I looked up at Toushirou who was just as focused on Yoru no Shedo in my hands.

"Interesting. I wasn't quite sure if she would turn into a weapon or not. Can she turn into anything else?" He asked.

"Yes, she can turn into her original form and fight that way." I told him.

"Great, its definitely good to have different abilities. First, let's see what you can do with her in this form. Matsumoto," Toushirou signaled.

"Hai, Taichou," Rangiku complied.

She took out her Zanpakuto and pointed it at me.

"Here I come, Azumi-chan," she smirked.

"Oh, God." I slipped out on accident.

I hadn't had any weapon training at all beside the little bit with Yoru no Shedo two nights ago. This was going to suck—I already knew it.

Rangiku flash-stepped toward me and swung her sword down on me. I countered by raising up my right arm and blocking with the three outward curving talons that ran along side my forearm. Rangiku's force was pretty strong, even for holding back.

My arm shook from the contact, and then finally I shoved her back. She landed back, and immediately sprang toward me again. I dodged to the right as her Zanpakuto slid against my left tonfa. As her sword slid, I swung my right arm toward her and attempted a swirl-type slash. She quickly dodged that—thank God—and leapt to the side again.

I took the opportunity to flip my right tonfa forward, and I curled my arm over the front of my body. I lunged at her, and swung my arm in an outward slash, which she countered with her Zanpakuto.

"Not bad, Azumi-chan," Rangiku smirked at me again while still holding off my slash.

"Thanks! You aren't so bad yourself!" I smirked back.

She shoved me back and I not-so-gracefully stumbled onto my feet.

"Watch your footwork!" Rangiku shouted.

She slashed at me from my left, and in the nick of time I blocked it, but flew back into the ground. I slid on my shoulder for a bit until I finally stopped.

"Good God," I exhaled out.

Rangiku laughed.

"Come on, Azumi-chan, get up! This isn't over yet!"

" **Use the attack we talked about,"** Yoru no Shedo commanded in my mind.

"Yeah, yeah," I said out loud to her in response.

I got up and got into stance. My left arm was bent angularly in front of me while my right was also bent behind me; both blades turned upward and stuck out away from my forearm.

"Let's hope I don't get dizzy," I commented to myself.

I bent my knees and flashed toward Rangiku.

The easiest way to explain my attack was that I turned into a tornado with blades. I used flash-step in combination with a twirl and slashed in complete circles. Rangiku didn't even use her sword to block it, she just dodged as I chased her.

After some long, gruesome seconds, I predicted where she would leap away from me next, and hopped just in front of her to make a hit. She blocked in time of course, and flew back quite a ways. I stopped then and there, and wobbled from the dizziness.

"I think I'm gonna barf," I stated, trying to get ahold of myself.

Rangiku started to step toward me.

"Time out! Time out!" I shouted.

I wobbled over to a rock and hurled my guts.

Rangiku burst into a belly laugh and Toushirou sighed loudly, walking over.

"That's what you get!" Rangiku said in between laughs.

Toushirou walked over and put a hand on my back—hopefully he wasn't looking at horrific display.

"Did you at least learn from that?" He asked.

In between the disgusting-ness I mumbled, "mhm," while he continued.

"You can only use that for a quick short range attack from now on, bakayaro," I heard him let out a few chuckles.

After I finished, I wiped my mouth at the very least and stood upright, still dizzier than ever.

"Yeah, yeah, noted." I coughed.

"Now's a good time for a quick break, stay here while I get you some water." Toushirou said and then walked away.

"Thanks," I said, sitting down.

"Bring some gum or something while you're at it, please! Thank you!" I shouted; he waved in response.

"Oh, Azumi-chan, you're so cute! Even when making poor decisions and vomiting!" Rangiku couldn't stop laughing.

"Shush it, you!" I pouted.

She took deep breaths to stifle her laughter then walked over to me and sat down.

"You're pretty good for someone who hasn't ever fought with a weapon. You need some practice of course, but still, for a rookie you're not that bad." She poked my arm lightly with her elbow.

"Thanks," I smiled and elbowed her back.

"We'll work on it, don't you worry!" She smiled.

"Thanks, Rangiku! I appreciate it!" I said.

"No prob!" She replied.

We rested for a little bit, and Yoru no Shedo reverted back to her earring form in the meantime. It was actually nice just sitting in the Tenth Squad's training grounds; it was a spacious area with a nice breeze and a little green vegetation here and there. After a few more minutes, Toushirou came back with some waters and mouthwash.

"It was the best I could do without going home," he said as he handed me the mouthwash.

"Something's better than nothing! Thanks, Toushirou!" I walked away and cleaned up a bit before walking back toward them.

"All right, should we get back to weapon training?" I asked.

"Not yet, I'm curious about your other abilities. You said earlier that she can revert to her original form and attack that way. Are there any other techniques that she can do beside the ones I saw the other day?" Toushirou asked.

"As far as what she can do goes, I'm not too sure. She did mention some other moves she can do with me, but I haven't tried them out at all yet. She gave me a brief description, but it's kind of hazy. I do remember exactly what to say in order for her to do the moves, however." I told him.

"All right, go ahead and say it." Toushirou told me.

Rangiku got up, her Zanpakuto already drawn and ready for whatever came her way. I took a deep breath and spoke the enchantment-like words.

"Gaze into the soul, Yoru no Shedo,"

Immediately, Yoru no Shedo transformed once again. She returned into her tonfa form, but I felt something peculiar on my face. I reached up and grabbed it.

I gasped.

It was a Hollow mask, but it looked different from the one I'd seen before.

It reminded me slightly of Yoru no Shedo; it looked similar to a bird skull but not completely. It had a long, sharp beak that didn't protrude outward, but pointed down congruent with my body. The eye holes weren't round like Yoru no Shedo's eyes, but rather soft diamond like slits, slanted and aiming downward at the beak. The top of the mask was in the shape of a "V" which kind of reminded me of ears again. And from the two top parts of the "V" came two gold stripes that went down the rest of the mask and joined at the very tip of the beak.

" **Put it on, and gaze into your opponent's eyes for precisely five seconds."** Yoru no Shedo instructed mentally.

" _Remember, we aren't aiming to harm, we're merely aiming to enhance our abilities."_ I told her.

" **As you wish,** _ **Master,**_ **"** Yoru no Shedo replied.

"Hello?" Rangiku called.

I hadn't noticed that she had been talking to me, I was too entranced by my own mask and by my short mental conversation.

" _Okay, here we go,"_ I took a deep breath and put the mask on.

It felt like I was in my Hollow form. There was some type of power I gained—like a recharge if you will—when I put the mask on. I flash-stepped to Rangiku and stopped right in front of her. She took a defensive position, and waited for me to attack.

"Well, hello—" I stopped mid sentence.

I sounded different with the mask on. My normal voice was at the very top of the pitch-spectrum while a more menacing, deeper one laced over it at the bottom.

"Azumi-chan, your eyes, wha—"

Suddenly Rangiku froze and straightened up like a board. Her eyes went blank, and it was like two invisible walls were closing in on her.

" **Petrify the soul,"** Yoru no Shedo told me.

"What's happening to her, Yoru no Shedo?" I shouted at her aloud.

Toushirou took a step closer at my confused shout.

" **Exactly as I said; she is petrified. This grants you the opportunity to attack with full force. You have to be quick however, depending on how strong the person is and their lung capacity, it can last anywhere from seconds to minutes. Take off your mask to cancel the attack."** She told me.

Immediately I took my mask off and threw it on the ground next to me. Rangiku inhaled loudly as her body eased. I ran over to her and held her up.

"Rangiku I am so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't know that the attack constricted your breathing!" I quickly apologized, my voice back to normal.

Rangiku coughed before answering.

"It's okay, Azumi-chan," she coughed again. "That's quite the attack you got there! I felt like I was frozen with Taichou's ice," she chuckled and looked over his way.

I didn't even know that he had approached us. He was right next to me with my mask in his hand. He stared at it for a moment and before handing it to me, and I watched his face as he did.

As soon as we made eye contact, his eyes widened.

"That's interesting." He commented.

"What?" I asked.

"Azumi-chan, your eyes are now completely black." Rangiku told me.

"Oh, really? No red iris?" I asked.

"Completely black, similar to Yoru no Shedo's eyes." Toushirou said, him and Rangiku staring intensely into my eyes.

I blushed.

"I can still see you guys, just so you know." I said, turning my head away.

"Any other moves you can do in this form?" Rangiku asked while giggling.

" **Put the mask back on and say: 'Revert the soul darkness.'"** Yoru no Shedo told me.

" _In case of anything, do I simply take my mask off to stop it?"_ I asked her.

" **Yes."** She replied.

I looked back at Rangiku.

"Yes, I can; ready?"

Rangiku nodded, Toushirou stepped back, and I put my mask on.

"Revert the soul to darkness," I said, my strange voice back in full effect.

Suddenly, every single thing in sight turned into vibrant shades of green.

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku called.

I looked at her—she had her Zanpakuto in a defensive position, and she squinted her eyes.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It's part of her attack. It slightly reminds me of Tousen's bankai," Toushirou folded his arms.

"However, the fact that I can still hear you, Matsumoto is the difference." He concluded.

" **With this attack, the entire area is submerged into darkness and no one can see or hear you. You now have vision similar to my own; vision that allows only you to see in the darkness. Use your invisibility to your advantage."** Yoru no Shedo explained.

"Oh, I get it." I said aloud.

"It's similar to the silent flight owls have, and uses their tactics. Cool!" I grinned.

I walked over to Toushirou, making loud stomps as I took each step—he didn't even flinch. I walked directly in front of his face—he did nothing.

"Hello? Shirou-chan?" I giggled.

No response.

I poked his forehead and he stumbled back, shocked.

"Azumi? Was that you?" He called, looking around.

I laughed manically—his expression was golden; if only I could have taken a picture of it.

"What happened Taichou?" Rangiku asked.

"Azumi's trying to play games." Toushirou said.

I laughed even more.

"Oh, that girl," Rangiku said with a smirk.

"Show me what you've got, Azumi-chan!" Rangiku shouted.

"Well, if you'd like." I said aloud.

"Let's see if you can block this,"

I came at her half-heartedly—since I didn't feel quite right about attacking a friend in the dark—and slammed my left tonfa against her Zanpakuto. She blocked successfully and pushed me off.

"There you are! Why don't you say something?" Rangiku laughed and she lunged toward the direction she pushed me.

I managed to flash-step to the right, and she landed in the spot where I was.

"To your left, Matsumoto," Toushirou said.

"How'd you figure that out?" I asked even though he couldn't hear me.

"Thanks, Taichou," Rangiku said and swung at me.

I leapt away and landed beside Toushirou. I took off my mask and immediately my vision went back to normal.

Toushirou and Rangiku looked around until they finally laid eyes on me.

"Well, hi guys!" I grinned and giggled.

"That's enough for now I think, Yoru no Shedo," I told her.

" **As you wish,"** she replied, and then she reverted back into her earring form in my earlobes.

"Well that was interesting," Rangiku commented as she sheathed her Zanpakuto and walked over to us.

"I got Toushirou pretty good—it was hilarious. I almost cried from how hard I laughed." I grinned and poked his forehead again.

"Very funny," he replied, trying to swat my hand away; I chuckled in response.

"So this attack of yours is very similar to Tousen's bankai; in case you didn't hear me before." Toushirou commented.

"Yeah, I heard you. From what I remember you saying, Tousen is blind. So to him it makes no difference if he's surrounded by darkness because he already constantly is. The difference between my attack and his is that my opponents can hear everything except myself and my actions. But, how did you know that I was to the right of Rangiku, Toushirou?" I asked.

"I felt your reiatsu. The key to making your attack work, is learning how to still mask your reiatsu while fighting. That's tough even for us; only few have actually succeeded in accomplishing it." Toushirou said.

"Aw damn!" I replied. "Well, I guess I'll just have to work on it." I shrugged.

"Don't worry, Azumi-chan, I'm sure you'll get there eventually!" Rangiku smiled.

"Hopefully," I exhaled.

"All right, for now I think that we should focus more on your 'weapons training' as you call it. Those other attacks we'll work on eventually. Let's get back to training," Toushirou said.

"Yes, boss," I saluted.

-[×]-

After a couple hours of training, it started getting dark and I was beat. Rangiku left, and Toushirou decided that he needed to do more paperwork, so we made our way to his office. After some begging and pleading, I convinced him to take some of the work home that way I could shower and relax.

As soon as we got home—er, to Toushirou's house—we set down all the stacks on his desk and he immediately sat down to get started.

"All right, I'll leave you to it; I'll go get cleaned up and then come help if you'd like." I offered.

"All right, sounds good," He replied in a monotone fashion; already focused on work.

I started walking away, and then had a brilliant idea.

"Hey, can I use your bath instead of the shower tonight? Please, please, please?" I turned back around and smiled the most innocent smile I could muster; he sighed.

"I stayed at your house for few weeks, of course you can use my bath. Just use the same rules you would use in your own house," he replied.

I jumped up and down like a kid—not that I wasn't _sore everywhere_ , oh no.

"Hooray! Thank you, Toushirou!" I squealed like a little girl.

"Kay, have fun! I believe in you! Byeeeee!"

I shut the door quickly, then went straight to my room to gather necessities for the bath.

After I got everything, I went into Toushirou's personal bathroom that attached to his room. It was soooooo nice; it was very clean, spacious, and every bath-loving girl's dream. I set my clothes on the counter and ventured over to the two-person bath and turned the water on.

On one of the ledges of the bath was a bottle of bubble bath and a note.

' _You need to actually start using your bath, Taichou! Seriously—you need to relax! Cheers! -Rangiku'_

I shook my head.

"Oh, Rangiku," I chuckled. "Huh, mint-eucalyptus. Sounds interesting."

The bottle hadn't been opened yet, so I decided that I'd just replace whatever I used. I undressed, and when the water was at a good level, turned off the flow. I figured it'd probably get hot, so I cracked open the window that was above the bath. I got in, and immediately slumped down, enjoying the feeling of relief on my aching muscles.

"What I wouldn't give to have my music player right now." I sighed.

Oh well, it was still a nice bath regardless, and it smelled awesome too. Rangiku really picked a scent that suited Toushirou—granted he didn't use it, but it still reminded me of him. I sunk down until the water went above my nose.

I remembered what he told me a few days ago in the office. I blew bubbles underwater and then came up and leaned back with my arms out of the tub.

What he said was absolutely right. That's pretty much what anyone would assume if they were to think we had feelings for each other. The more I thought about it, the sadder I became, and the more I realized my feelings grew. What if everything blew over and we lived through the war between Aizen and the Soul Society? Would it be acceptable then?

Well, then again.

It's not like I'm the same species technically anyway. But did that really even matter? Probably.

I exhaled loudly and then took a deep breath. I plunged my whole head underwater and stayed under for a few seconds before coming back up. I took a breath and started rubbing my eyes.

"Well, look who's all nice and cozy in the little Taichou's home,"

I seriously almost slipped back under the water and hit my head; I opened my eyes and looked around.

"And here we all thought you were going to be executed—you little devil, you,"

I looked up toward the window to see a familiar black cat.

"Yoruichi!" I smiled up at her.

It was then I realized that I was absolutely naked. I covered myself bashfully.

"You could've picked a better time!" I exclaimed in a cracked chirp.

She laughed and hoped down into the tub with me. I curled my knees up against my chest and held them there.

"Oh stop, I'm your sensei aren't I? Besides, it's not like I haven't seen female parts before, _and_ I've changed you anyway." She laughed again.

She glowed and returned to her original form and leaned back against the other side of the bath. I blushed before, but now I was completely flushed. I looked away and pressed my lips into a fine line.

"What? It's just a body—calm down; you can look." she chuckled.

I couldn't help it, I looked.

She laughed.

"I'm glad to see you, Yoruichi!" I smiled, then realized how that sounded.

"I mean not because your naked, but I mean in general!" I inhaled loudly, she just kept laughing.

"You are too cute, Azumi! Your embarrassment always brings a smile to my face." She grinned at me, and I flashed my teeth at her sheepishly.

"It's good to see that you're still alive. Now, tell me what's happened, and why you're still in the Soul Society."

It took a little time, but I explained everything to her.

Why I was still there, the weird Hinamori thing, my training, and any other little detail. After I finished telling her, she chuckled.

"The Soul Society sure has changed; in this case for the better, however." She smiled and leaned back, more of the water soaking her skin.

"I'm just glad they're giving me a chance at the very least." I scooped up some bubbles with both my hands and blew them away.

"Same." Yoruichi replied.

"One thing though Azumi-chan; did you have any other friends aside from the Shinigami in the World of the Living?" She asked.

I furrowed my brow.

"Not really; why?" I asked.

"I've been frequently checking up on your house since you've been gone in my cat form. On Saturday, someone just knocked on the door and then walked away at first. Then—about an hour or so later—he came back and hid out in the tree by your window." She explained.

I sat up as she continued.

"Then on Sunday, he came back again and hid out in your tree for a while before he opened your window to your room and went in."

"What!" I leaned forward, eyes wide. "Who the—"

"It gets better," she continued.

"I followed him in to see exactly what he was after before attacking him. He found the picture of you and your parents and stuck it in his pocket. He also found some letter and took it as well. Then he got on what looked like a cell phone and started talking to someone. He said:

' _Yes, I think we were correct. They've all left, and they took Takashita Azumi with them.'_

Then he hung up the phone and spoke aloud to himself.

' _The poor thing; to be with that stubborn kid. I'll have to make things right for her,'_

After that, he grabbed a book you had on your desk and threw it at me—evidently he knew I was there the whole time—he used the distraction to get away. I asked if he was your friend because it almost seemed like he knew you personally." Yoruichi finished.

"What did the guy look like?" I asked.

"He had a hood covering; I couldn't really get an accurate description. It was definitely a male though. About as tall as I am for sure." She said.

"A male, huh…" I drifted off.

The only male I could think of was Ulquiorra, but I couldn't picture him wearing a hood. Then I remembered that he took my two most treasured possessions.

"I can't believe he took the only two possessions I care about." I frowned.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him, Azumi." Yoruichi leaned forward and put her hand on my shoulder.

"It's not your fault, don't worry." I cracked a small smile.

"It must have been one of Aizen's goons; that's all that would make sense. If you could please still keep an eye on my house, I'd greatly appreciate it." I told her.

"You got it," she smiled.

A few seconds of silence passed, and so I decided it was time to change the subject.

"I'm shocked the water is still hot; how long have we been in here?" I asked, splashing some of the water around.

Practically all the bubbles were gone; the lack of cover made me blush out of instinct.

"It's still hot because of the fire I made before hopping in here—it _is_ an old-style bath after all. And I'd say it's been at least around an hour." Yoruichi said, leaning her head back.

"That's so cool! I love this bath even more now!" I grinned. "Well, want to get out or stay in longer?" I asked.

"Let's stay in longer, I'm going back to the World of the Living after this since I know you're okay now. I want to enjoy a nice, old-fashioned bath while I can," she smiled.

"Ah, gotcha! Well then, I'm putting more bubbles in," I said, reaching for the bottle.

"Why? Are you scared now that the bubbles are gone?" Yoruichi smirked.

"N-no, that's not it!" I stammered out.

"Then why are you blushing, Azumi?" She asked, sitting up.

"I-Its because it's like a sauna in here! Geez!"

"Don't lie to your sensei!" She chuckled with an evil smile plastered across her face.

"I'm not!"

"That's it! Now I'm going to have to punish you!"

Yoruichi suddenly put her hand against the wall of the tub, ready to push herself.

"W-What are you doing?" I asked panicked.

She pushed herself from the wall—causing the water to splash out of the bath—and started tickling me.

"No! Yoruichi!" I shouted, trying to push her off me in between laughs.

She just kept laughing.

"Someone! Help! Please! Anyone!" I shouted.

"No one can possibly save you now! Don't you regret lying to your sensei?" She shouted at me with that huge smirk on her face.

Suddenly the door burst open.

"Azumi!"

Yoruichi and I both froze in the most awkward of positions.

There was Toushirou…standing at the door, hand hovering on the hilt of Hyourinmaru, completely frozen at the site.

"Oh my God!" I shouted and tried to cover myself.

"Yo! Care to join us?" Yoruichi smirked.

He coughed loudly, face about as red as mine.

"No! He can't join us! Get off me!" I shouted trying to push her.

"Oh come on, Azumi! It's just two female bodies!" Yoruichi laughed, trying to tickle me more.

"No, no, no! Stop! Toushirou what the Hell are you still doing here? Get out!" I grabbed the bottle and threw it at him.

He was still in such shock that his reflexes failed and I successfully hit him. Quickly, he turned around shut the door behind him.

"What the Hell is even going on in there?" He shouted, flustered through the door.

"It's not what you're thinking!" I shouted.

"Yes it is!" Yoruichi laughed.

"Yoruichi!"

And now, let the record show that this experience has been the _most_ embarrassing moment in my existence.


	24. Chapter 24

"So there was someone who broke into your house?" Toushirou asked.

After Yoruichi left and I gave a _detailed_ explanation to Toushirou about why Yoruichi and I were both taking a bath together; Toushirou focused on one of the main reasons Yoruichi came to see me.

"Yes; my first thought was Ulquiorra, but now I'm not so sure. Other than that, I don't know who else it would be. I mean, maybe an Espada? I don't know." I shrugged and then started combing out my wet hair.

"It has to be one of Aizen's men—that much is for certain." He said, crossing his arms.

"At the very least, I'm glad that we're back in the Soul Society—it's safer for you here." He sat down on the bed; contemplating everything most likely; I sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Doesn't make me feel any less bothersome." I hung my towel in the bathroom and walked back into the room, combing my hair out as I took a seat next to Toushirou on his bed.

"It's not your fault; you shouldn't feel bothersome to anyone," he tried to comfort.

"Say all you want, I'm not convinced." I smirked and laid back once I finished.

"When _are you_ over something that isn't miniscule?" He asked; I chuckled.

"You got a point there, Toushirou." I stared up at the ceiling.

"Say, so when _are_ we going back to the World of the Living?" I asked.

"In a few more days, why? Is everything okay?" He asked, turning to look at me.

I realized that he must've thought I was going to turn into a Hollow or something. I waved him off with my hand.

"No, no, no, I'm fine!" I flashed my teeth in hopes to calm him down.

"I was just wondering when we were going to go back. I really want my music player—this is ridiculous." I made a pouting face.

"Oh, I see," he said, easing his tense shoulders.

"Well, we can try to arrange that." He put both hands behind him and held himself up with them.

"So, how was the extra time working?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"The same, just full of paperwork." He said.

"I see." I stared up at the ceiling again; then suddenly had a thought.

"Hey, when can we go see the rest of the Soul Society? I want to get a tour soon."

"Not any time soon. We still need to lay low for a while before we leave the Seireitei, and I have far too much paperwork." He told me.

"Aw, but Toushirou—"

"No, Azumi, we're not—"

I knocked out his arms and he fell next to me.

"Baka!"

"Oh come on, Toushirou! Don't be such a stick in the mud, relax! Your bed's too comfortable, so lay down and chill out!" I laughed; his eye twitched in response.

"Ya know, so is the rest of your house. It makes for such a comfortable living _and_ it's stylish. But, it almost seems lonely if you don't have anyone living with you." I paused and looked at him.

He didn't say anything.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Why is what?" He replied.

"Why don't you have anyone living with you?" I asked.

"Why would I?" He responded.

"Why would you _not_? Toushirou, you're a handsome, young gentleman. I find it hard to believe that you would have any issues in the female department." I turned to look at him.

He had his eyes closed and he didn't say anything.

"Well, screw all of them then." I said as I turned back to look at the ceiling.

He turned his head to look at me.

"They're all missing out; guys like you are hard to find. Anyone who's stupid enough to just let a guy like you slip by doesn't deserve you." I grinned.

I didn't really know how or why I decided to delve into this kind of conversation, but I stupidly went along with it.

"People generally avoid individuals with colder personalities; it's only natural that people stay away—especially females. It really doesn't matter to me, however." He commented.

I turned my head and squinted my eyes at him.

"So you're going to lay here and tell me you'd rather be alone?"

"The more people in my life, the more troublesome things are." He said.

"Oh stop. Now you're starting to sound like the old me! Sure, having alone time is healthy, but you need to have a good balance of social interaction too! I learned that recently, and am personally glad that now I have so many friends by my side!" I paused to elbow his arm.

"Finding someone more than a friend on top of all the wonderful friends you do have must be like a dream." I smiled.

"I mean, at least you have others that are the same species. You have no reason to be so pessimistic." I continued as I chuckled half-heartedly.

As optimistic as I was being for him, I found that I dug myself deeper and deeper into my own personal hole of sorrow.

He looked hard at me, before trying to nonchalantly answer.

"I guess,"

I don't know what possessed me, but the next question I asked with zero thought-process.

"You don't like anyone, Toushirou?" I blurted out.

I thought I saw him blush a little, but he did really well in holding it together.

"I don't know." He said with an exhale.

"I think I do," I said.

He looked over at me.

"It's Hinamori, isn't it?" I grinned.

He gave me a look that I couldn't recognize, and I took it as me being correct in my theory.

Why the Hell was I even asking all these questions now of all times—the world may never know. My next response surprised even me.

"Hm. Well, we're just gonna have to work on that." I said, looking away from him. "She's just blinded at the moment."

"What do you mean? Since when do you care about my 'love life?' Listen, I don't care for Hinamori that way. We're nothing more than childhood friends—that's it. I don't have feelings for anyone in particularly right now." Toushirou said, crossing his arms.

I stared a hole into the side of his head. "Hmm, I don't believe you, but whatever you say, Toushirou," I smiled.

"Believe what you want." He replied.

"Fine, I will." I huffed.

"You're one of my best and only friends, so I'm making it my mission to make sure you're happy." I finished.

"I'm fine, I don't want you to do anything," he said.

"Well, too bad! That's what friends are for!" I shoved him, a huge grin on my face; he shoved me back.

"Why are you so difficult?"

"To annoy you, of course!" I poked him repeatedly.

I could see him starting to get annoyed; my actions were proving to be fruitful—I grinned even more.

He swatted my hand again, suddenly a big smirk on his face.

"You know, I'm surprised at you, Azumi," he started.

I cocked an eye at him and paused my poking in confusion.

"You've been here this whole time talking to me without makeup; I'm impressed." He smirked in victory.

Oh my…

"Aw damn it!" I shouted as I blushed and looked away.

I heard him let out a chuckle.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" I squeaked, as I got up and rushed out of the room.

"You look better without it anyway, bakayaro!" he shouted after me, chuckling.

"You win for now!" I shouted angrily at him.

" _So, he thinks I look better without it…?"_

-[×]-

"Chef Toushirou! Can you pass the daikon please?" I grinned at him.

I didn't know Toushirou knew how to cook; he surprised me with breakfast that was actually _super delicious._

"Don't call me that—it sounds weird. Here," he handed me the daikon and sat down to eat with me.

"Thanks! And I'll only call you that when you cook—your food is amazing! How come you never cooked for me before? We could've been eating like royalty this whole time!" I said before taking another bite.

"Even though I stayed with you for so long, it was an unfamiliar kitchen—I felt odd cooking there. Besides, my cooking isn't the greatest, and we didn't really have time for it." He said, drinking some tea.

"Oh, don't be modest! Your food's great, Chef Toushirou! Whenever you feel like whipping something up, I'll be your number one guinea pig." I chuckled.

He rolled his eyes and continued eating. After we both finished up, we headed to start work at the office. Rangiku wasn't there yet—which now I knew was usual—so I sat at her desk and helped Toushirou with paperwork.

After a few hours went by, there was a knock on the door.

"Kurosutchi-Taichou and Nemu-Fukutaichou," Nemu announced.

Toushirou and I exchanged looks of surprise at each other.

This was that psycho Taichou that wanted to do experiments on me—I gulped hard and took a deep breath.

"Come in," Toushirou replied—I could tell just by his tone that he didn't like this guy.

The door opened and an insanely-weird looking guy walked in and nearly made me shiver. I noticed him briefly when I was dragged into the Taichou meeting the other day, but I didn't really get a chance to take a good look at him.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, how is—ah, never mind," he looked at me and walked over.

"Takashita Azumi, isn't it?" He asked and stuck out a hand.

I grabbed it reluctantly and shook it.

"A pleasure to meet you officially," I said.

"Now that we've met formally in person, I'd like to know more about you; everything in fact." He said.

I unknowingly leaned back a bit.

This guy sure came off strong—he didn't beat around the bush whatsoever.

"U-Um, sure; what would you like to know?" I asked.

He made a 'tsk' noise and took his hand back.

"Since you didn't quite understand me the first time, let me reiterate myself; I want to know _everything_ about your species. I specialize in gathering data, and am here for that particular reason. I'm going to perform some tests on you while you're here under watch in the Soul Society and—"

"Kurotsuchi-Taichou, didn't we already discuss that your testing isn't necessary? While Takashita Azumi is under my watch, I'm hereby not authorizing any form of—'

Toushirou was cut off by Kurotsuchi using one of his nails to slice Nemu's arm.

It happened so fast that I couldn't even really comprehend what the Hell was going on. She sharply inhaled at the sudden slash, and Kurotsuchi spoke immediately after.

"I'll perform my tests eventually, Hitsugaya-Taichou, whether you personally care or not." He said.

"Teme!" Toushirou yelled at him.

But none of that mattered.

All that mattered at that instant to me was Nemu.

I could already feel an episode coming on; I immediately put a hand over my left eye and took deep breaths.

"Do you realize what you've done, Kurotsuchi?" I sneered at him.

Toushirou was already by my side.

"Of course I do, you ignorant child; this is all part of my test."

"Oh really? And what part of a Hollow in the middle of the Seireitei sounds like a good idea to you? You stupid—"

And then the smell got to me.

I completely stopped what I was doing and saying, and leapt at Nemu like a starving cheetah. Fangs immediately pierced around her wound and sucked at it. She shrieked in response.

This was ridiculous and embarrassing, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't really comprehend what I was doing or what was going on besides the sweet blissful feeling going through me.

"Takashita!" Toushirou shouted at me.

He grabbed me and yanked me off Nemu while Kurotsuchi cackled in the background.

It was when I felt Toushirou's hand on me that I started to gain at least a little rational thought.

"T-Toushirou?" I whimpered, trying to regain my composure.

"Already a change in eye color and teeth? How fascinating!" Kurotsuchi said with a pleased tone.

"Kurotsuchi, Nemu, get out of my office now!" Toushirou ordered harshly.

"I won't forget this, Kurotsuchi," Toushirou sneered.

Suddenly, we were out of the office.

Toushirou was flash stepping somewhere with me in his arms.

"T-Toushirou, it's happening—quickly," I managed to say.

I could feel myself slipping.

"It's okay; I'll figure something out, I promise." I thought I heard him say.

All I knew at that moment was that I could feel the strangely heavy bile coming up like it did last time. It felt like it was acid in my stomach. I bit my lips and clenched tightly to Toushirou's shirt with one hand and with the other held his face as gently but firmly as I could. He looked down at me.

"P-please, don't let me hurt—" I couldn't even finish my sentence.

The hollowfication began.

I started coughing up the familiar white liquid, painfully like before. My hands flew to my mouth, trying to cover up what was happening, but to no avail. I choked in between gasping and screaming, and then suddenly something flew into us.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

Kurotsuchi suddenly attacked us mid-air.

I turned just in time for him to hit Hyourinmaru's sheath rather than Azumi or myself, and it sent the both of us barreling to the Tenth Squad's training ground. Luckily, I was able to take most of the impact rather than Azumi.

I looked down at her; the white liquid from before was covering up her face rapidly. Kurotsuchi landed a few feet away from us, Zanpakuto still in hand. I set Azumi down lightly as she jerked around holding her throat.

"To go as far as attacking another Taichou," I took out Hyourinmaru.

"It looks to me, like you've just made a death wish." I let my reiatsu flare.

Doing this to Azumi, and then _attacking_ us?

I was furious.

"Oh good, you've drawn your Zanpakuto, Hitsugaya-Taichou. If what you've said is true about Takashita Azumi, you might just need it." He smirked.

Suddenly, Azumi's choked screams became roars.

I looked back at her to see her mask fully developed over her face. It had already spread down her arms and was trailing down her torso.

There wasn't much time left before she completely transformed.

There was no way now that we could make it to the outskirts of the Rukongai at this rate with Kurotsuchi blocking the way. She was going to become a Hollow in the middle of the Seireitei, with no Hollows nearby to change her back to normal.

I did the only thing I could think of—I used Bakudo on her. One to restrain her, another as a barrier around her. She roared louder and almost painfully as it affected her.

Matsumoto, Abarai, Nemu, Soi Fon, Kyoraku and Ukitake showed up then and there. They must have felt Azumi's out of control reiatsu along with mine.

"T-Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted.

"Go with Abarai, find a Hollow and bring it here, now!" I commanded her.

She looked hard at Azumi, and without hesitation nodded and left with Abarai.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, what happened to her?" Ukitake asked with a shocked but serious tone.

I didn't answer; I lunged at Kurotsuchi with full force.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou!" Ukitake shouted.

"Stay out of it, Ukitake!" I sneered back at him and shoved Kurotsuchi back—who laughed in response.

Kyoraku and Ukitake got in between the two of us; Ukitake facing me, and Kyoraku facing Kurotsuchi. Their hands hovered over their Zanpakuto, ready to stop the fight.

"What is the meaning of this, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" Soi Fon interjected.

"Kurotsuchi triggered Takashita into becoming a Hollow and then while I was trying to get her out of the Seireitei, attacked us. He's risking the lives of our fellow comrades because of his selfish reasons!" I answered, the anger still apparent in my voice.

"Kurotsuchi-Taichou," Kyoraku started, only to be interrupted.

"You all can't stand here and tell me you haven't been curious about Takashita Azumi! I'm merely confirming what the truth is and what isn't; wouldn't that be a reasonable request since we're risking the lives of our comrades with a dormant monster in our midst?" Kurotsuchi reasoned.

"Kurotsuchi, you—!" I started.

"While you have a point in settling curiosity, this wasn't the best way to go about it, Kurotsuchi-Tai—"

Suddenly the ground shook with a violent thump, and my head snapped back to Azumi.

She hadn't completely transformed, but she seemed to have stopped for the time being. She started breaking through my Bakudo—the pillars that held her to the ground shook as she freed her right Hierro covered arm.

"Impressive; her strength seems to have increased." Kurotsuchi commented.

She roared loudly again, and with what seemed like little struggle, broke both the restraint and barrier in an instant.

"Takash—"

Before I could even finish, she had Kurotsuchi on the ground. All of us were completely shocked at her speed.

Immediately, Kyoraku and Ukitake threw her off, and held her down as humanely as possible.

"Hollow scum!" Kurotsuchi sneered as he started to get up.

I ignored him and ran over to Azumi.

"Takashita! Snap out of it!" I yelled.

No response.

She wasn't able to control herself just yet—we needed that Hollow and we needed it now.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi,"

No.

Soi Fon was ready for an attack. I stood between her and Azumi, Hyourinmaru aimed toward her.

"Stand down, Soi Fon-Taichou." I threatened.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, your subordinate poses a threat even to us Taichou-level Shinigami. She must be stopped immediately." She said, taking her offensive stance.

"She is to be protected and trained to control her abilities to aid us in the future; she has yet to commit any crime. The fact that she poses a threat in her uncontrolled state is irrelevant; all of us knew that before the agreement was made. If you attempt to sever the agreement, then you leave me no choice," I pointed Hyourinmaru at her.

She looked at me for a moment, and laughed.

"If you get hurt don't blame me, Hitsugaya-Taichou,"

She flash-stepped toward me, Suzumebachi ready to strike.

"Hold it!" A familiar voice shouted.

Yoruichi came out of nowhere and stopped Soi Fon's attack.

"Yoruichi-Sama!" Soi Fon shouted in surprise.

"Hey there, Soi Fon, it's been a while!" Yoruichi smirked and shoved her back.

Soi Fon landed flawlessly, and stepped forward in surprise at the appearance.

"Yoruichi-Sama, what are you doing?" Soi Fon asked.

"The right thing; trust me Soi Fon, Takashita Azumi isn't your enemy." Yoruichi replied, turning back toward us.

"What happened here?" She asked.

"Kurotsuchi-Taichou decided to tempt the beast, as it would seem," Ukitake smiled as he struggled to hold Azumi down.

"Sounds about right—bakayaro," She chuckled, looking at Kurotsuchi who just snorted in response.

Some of the other Taichou showed up along with some of their seated officers.

"Takashita! You transformed without me? Ukitake-Taichou, Kyoraku-Taichou, let her go so that I can fight her!" Madarame grinned like a possessed child; Kenpachi chuckled in response.

"Woah! She looks funny, Kenny!" Yachiru commented and giggled.

"Interesting to say the least," Kenpachi agreed.

Azumi roared again and shoved Ukitake and Kyoraku off from on top of her.

"Looks like it's time to see just how powerful my student is," Yoruichi announced.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, you have a Hollow on the way, right?" She asked; I nodded.

"Great! I'll keep her at bay in the meantime."

Yoruichi flash-stepped and kicked Azumi into the wall far off to the edge of the training ground. Azumi growled in response and lunged at Yoruichi with a speed that was hard to make out. If there was anyone here who could keep up with Azumi, it was Yoruichi. They kept going back and forth, blocking each other's attacks; Yoruichi laughing in between blows.

"This is ridiculous. That Hollow scum shouldn't be allowed to walk amongst us!" Kurotsuchi commented.

"Yoruichi, stand back and let me handle this," he said, getting into position.

I flashed right in front of him, sword pointed at him.

"Don't you dare." I growled.

"Well this should be fun," he said.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, Kurotsuchi-Taichou, please desist—"

Komamura-Taichou was cut off as Kurotsuchi swung his Zanpakuto at me in a downward slash. I blocked it and shoved him off me, then flash stepped in front of him and side slashed at him—cutting some of his haori off in the process as he dodged.

"Hado 31, Shakkaho!" Kurotsuchi announced as he launched the red flame cannon at me.

I dodged successfully, and he took the opportunity to kick me as soon as I'd landed. I flew back into the dirt, lost my footing, and tumbled onto the ground. Kurotsuchi flashed toward me.

Suddenly, Azumi attacked Kurotsuchi mid-air.

She back-handed him and he flew down to the ground. She immediately met him down on the ground and held him down with her right hand while her left formed a Cero in the blink of an eye.

"Takashita! Stop!" I shouted at her.

Her head snapped toward me.

She stared at me for a moment, and the Cero began to dissipate. She flashed away from Kurotsuchi, and roared as she grabbed her head and hunched forward. After an ear-shattering scream, she started tearing off her armor from her right shoulder.

"She's regaining control," Kyoraku commented.

All eyes were focused on her, watching as her Hierro cracked off painfully and full of blood.

"Taichou!"

Matsumoto and Abarai were finally back.

Abarai held a medium-sized Hollow while Matsumoto had a small one. They both threw the Hollows off to the side, and immediately Azumi lunged toward them like a starving dog.

Everyone watched as she devoured both of them; some made disgusted faces while others were just shocked at the display.

Finally, after a few minutes, both Hollows ceased to exist and Azumi stood there, Hierro cracking off her in large chunks, staring at me. She tore off her mask—slowly but forcefully—and threw it on the ground. Her eyes were still black and red; pained and fixated on me.

"Everyone," she looked around, voice still tinged with a deeper tone.

"I'm sorry for the scene I've caused."

And with that, fatigue got her and she fell on her back onto the ground.

Matsumoto and I rushed over to her, Matsumoto checking her pulse.

"She's still alive and breathing," she told me, worry in her voice.

"So this is Takashita Azumi,"

The Soutaichou suddenly appeared before us; everyone except those of Taichou class bowed in respect.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, what happened here?" He asked me.

I sheathed my Zanpakuto and turned forward to face him.

"Kurotsuchi-Taichou and Nemu-Fukutaichou came to visit, and triggered Takashita Azumi to transform. Kurotsuchi-Taichou inflicted a wound on Nemu-Fukutaichou, and Takashita was unable to withstand the temptation. Since she is still learning how to control herself, she couldn't stop herself from turning into a Hollow. I tried to take her out of the Seireitei and into the outskirts of the Rukongai until Kurotsuchi-Taichou interfered by attacking us. By then it was too late." I explained.

No one dared say a word.

I tried hard to be as factual as possible without my emotions getting in the way. The Soutaichou turned to Kurotsuchi.

"What do you have to say, Kurotsuchi-Taichou?" He asked.

"I had to see for myself exactly what we are all forced to deal with; how could I believe simple words without any evidence? As a scientist, and the Taichou in charge of the Research and Development Bureau, I found it my duty to research this female for the good of the Soul Society." He responded.

That arrogant bastard.

How I wanted to run Hyourinmaru through him because of his words.

The Soutaichou slammed his cane down.

"Kurotsuchi-Taichou, as much as you claim your research is for the better of the Soul Society, it is unwise to cause Takashita Azumi to become a Hollow at this point in time. You are hereby forbidden from doing any sort of research or experimentation on her until further notice."

"Hai, Soutaichou," Kurotsuchi complied through gritted teeth; I almost broke my façade and smirked.

"Everyone, get back to your duties, immediately." The Soutaichou said.

As the other Shinigami began to disperse, he walked over toward Matsumoto and I.

He looked down at Azumi's sleeping form for a moment in silence, then without looking away spoke to me directly.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, although in this instance it was not your fault, make sure that Takashita Azumi never again loses control of herself while in the Seireitei. If anyone is harmed by her, you will be the one held accountable. Not only that, but we will execute actions that may very well result in taking the life of Takashita Azumi. Am I understood?" He asked.

"Hai, Soutaichou," I responded immediately with a slight bow.

"Once you deem she has gained the ability to control herself, she is to prove not only her control, but her worth to us. I expect full reports on her progress until then." He said.

"Hai." I replied.

"Until then, Hitsugaya-Taichou, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou," And with that, the Soutaichou vanished.

Matsumoto let out the breath she'd been holding, and Yoruichi came over with Soi Fon.

"Yo! Glad I stuck around!" Yoruichi smiled.

"Thanks for you help," I said.

"No problem at all! I should've just spent the night at your house though rather than on a random rooftop, Hitsugaya-Taichou," she smirked; I rolled my eyes in response.

"Yoruichi-Sama! What do you mean by that?" Soi Fon perked up.

Whenever Yoruichi was around, she turned into a scared, over-protective, and lost child—it was pathetic.

Yoruichi laughed and put a hand on Soi Fon's head.

"Ask Azumi later," she chuckled.

"So, Hitsugaya-Taichou, I talked it over with Soi Fon and she has agreed to help train Azumi in my place. From what Azumi told me about Yoru no Shedo, she needs to keep learning hand-to-hand combat. So, whenever it's time for training, just call up my little Soi Fon for help!" Yoruichi smirked; Soi Fon blushed in response.

"I'll be checking back every now and again, please send Azumi my regards," Yoruichi smiled down at her.

"That's fine, thank you for your help," I replied.

Funny how Soi Fon was the one _against_ Azumi from the beginning, but now that she found out Yoruichi deems Azumi okay—she's okay with her.

"All right then, I'm going back to the World of the Living, please keep me and Urahara posted." With that Yoruichi disappeared; Soi Fon leaving immediately after.

I exhaled loudly in relief.

This whole scene could've been worse than it already was.

"Are you okay, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get back to the office."

She nodded, I picked up Azumi, and we left.


	25. Chapter 25

"Master, open your eyes."

Yoru no Shedo's voice woke me, and I sat up with shivers going up my spine. My eyes adjusted, and immediately I knew I was in Yoru no Shedo's domain.

She was on the ground next to me—staring up at me with her onyx orbs, and her wings folded in.

"Yoru no Shedo," I began, positioning myself to get up.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

Her head shifted fluidly to her right.

"Yes, _she_ is requesting your presence." She replied.

I looked in the direction she did and saw nothing. I finally rose to my feet, dusting off the dead leaves from my clothes. Yoru no Shedo flew up and landed on my shoulder.

"Who is this _she_ you're referring to?" I asked.

"Someone who's been here longer than I." She replied as I started walking.

What she just said made me cringe; who could possibly have been living here longer than her?

"I thought this was _your_ domain though; wasn't this place only created when you were born?" I asked.

"No, it wasn't. This place has been apart of you all along. She has been here the entire time, she just hasn't reacted to anything." Yoru no Shedo explained.

"Well, do you know what she wants?" I asked.

Yoru no Shedo didn't answer—she just silently stayed perched on my shoulder.

There was a moon out tonight, and soon enough, I was able to hear the river I'd seen before.

"Prepare yourself," Yoru no Shedo suddenly perked up.

I knew by her tone she wasn't joking, and immediately I became focused, and ready for whatever was ahead.

On the inside I was panicking.

What on earth could be inside my head that I don't know about? As much as I tried to shove the thought to the back of my mind, I just couldn't manage to do it. Finally, we arrived at the familiar clearing; the moonlight illuminating everything in sight.

There was a figure standing by the river.

My spine stiffened, and I stood there for a moment, staring into her backside.

"Why don't you come closer, Azumi?"

That voice…it sounded like the voice that underlined mine when I…

"Who are you?" I asked, making sure there wasn't a crack in my voice.

She laughed.

It sounded familiar, _too_ familiar. At that moment, it all came together; I already knew the answer.

"What an irrelevant question; a shame that I come from someone with such stupidity. You're hopeless," She laughed again and turned around to face me.

I almost stopped breathing.

She looked exactly like me.

Completely spot on.

The only difference was her skin, hair and eyes. Her skin and hair was all white, and her eyes were black and red. She stared into me like I was a child; smirking and arms crossed like I was in trouble.

"W-What's your name?" I asked.

She laughed in response.

"You really are stupid; aren't you? I'm you; my name is Takashita Azumi. I'm the _real_ you; the one our stupid mother sealed away. I'm glad she's dead; it's what she gets for what she did to me." She said.

I instantly grew angry.

"Hey! Shut your damn mouth! She did what she thought was best, and it _was_ the best. We've had a great life so far!" I shouted back at her.

"You call _this_ a great life?" She held her arms up and motioned toward the entire area.

"A life where I've been restrained and not able to use myself to my full potential? And the most _fucked up_ part about it: I've starved for years. We haven't feasted on humans in almost seventeen years! Do you even understand how hungry I've been? How much _pain_ I've had to endure? Then you feed me stupid Hollows because you want to be _humane_ ; such bullshit! It's like telling a starving carnivore to eat a damn salad!"

She grunted and pushed her fingers through her hair in frustration.

I chuckled.

"I'm glad you've been sealed away; you seem like a total ass-hole." I smirked; she chuckled.

"Oh, not for long, my dear Azumi,"

"Oh you think so?" I retorted back.

"I know so; I'm taking over whether you like it or not. Just like I am _right now_ on the outside." She smirked.

I froze, suddenly remembering.

"Shit!" I cursed.

I ran past Hollow Azumi to the still water of the river.

I looked in to see that I had that Kurotsuchi guy on the ground under me. As I inched my face closer, the view to the outside world vanished. Panicked, I tried to dive in.

Something stopped me and pushed me back before my head even went under the water.

Hollow Azumi's face appeared beneath the water, her hands out and pushing against my shoulders.

"Just what do you think you're doing? Don't you understand?" She asked with a malicious grin.

Hollow Azumi came up from the water and stepped out in front of me.

"Why is the river your go-to escape when I takeover? Why do you think the current is so strong? Have these questions ever crossed through that empty skull of yours?" She took another step closer and bent down to eye level.

"This river represents _me_. _My_ power, _my_ strength. This whole realm belongs to me! Yoru no Shedo unfortunately has to stay here, so I'm letting her bunk here at a price." She smirked.

She reached up and touched the black identical Yoru No Shedo earrings on her earlobes.

"Okay fine. We can discuss ground rules later, but right now I'm getting out of here. If I don't take control again, the Shinigami will kill us. Don't you understand that?" I tried to reason.

"Those fools won't stand a chance against me when I fully awaken—they can barely handle me now." She laughed slyly.

" _ **Takashita! Stop!"**_

It was Toushirou.

I looked into the water and saw that I was about to launch a Cero at Kurotsuchi.

"Good, the fool deserves to die for tampering with me." Hollow Azumi snorted.

I didn't have time for this.

"Yoru!" I called.

As if Yoru no Shedo read my mind; she charged faster than lightening into Hollow Azumi. I took advantage of the distraction and dove into the water.

As I swam into the darkness and steadily approached the light, I heard Hollow Azumi one last time.

' _You win for now, you sneaky little brat. Enjoy your freedom for now, I'll be taking it soon.'_ She laughed manically.

As her laughter faded, I gained vision of the outside world.

The first thing I saw was a worried and angry-looking Toushirou. The Cero in my hand began to dissipate, and I backed away from Kurotsuchi as I screamed in my own anger and frustration and grabbed my head. I reached over my shoulder and started taking off my Hollow skin.

It was so incredibly painful because it wasn't ready to come off. I knew that I had to feed in order to get it off me. As I kept trying to rip it all off, I noticed that there were a lot of people gathered around. It was so embarrassing—I just wanted to run away but knew that I couldn't.

"Taichou!"

It was Rangiku; her and Renji both had hollows.

Thank God!

They both threw the Hollows off to the side, and I immediately dove for them—desperate to get back to normal. I had to ignore the urge to take my time with this; others were watching and I needed to change back before any of them decided to take desperate measures.

After I finished, my armor started cracking off without any pain. I looked back at Toushirou, and reached up to take my mask off.

The poor guy looked so frightened, and I felt absolutely terrible. I looked around to see everyone's shocked faces as well; which made me feel even worse.

"Everyone," I looked around, noticing my voice was tinged with what I now knew was Hollow Azumi's voice.

"I'm sorry for the scene I've caused." And with that, I started blacking out, and fell over.

-[×]-

I woke up laying on something soft, with something warm covering me. I rubbed my eyes, and propped myself up; I was in the office on the couch.

"How are you feeling?" Toushirou asked.

I looked over to see him sitting at his desk. He put down his pen and looked over at me; I looked away.

"Fine," I replied sheepishly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He replied.

"How is Kurotsuchi? Did I hurt him?" I asked.

"He's fine, you didn't hurt him," he answered, leaning back in his chair.

"Good, I'm glad," I exhaled in relief.

"I-I'm sorry…I'm sorry I caused you trouble," I began.

"Don't be—it wasn't your fault. Kurotsuchi is to blame for everything; I honestly wouldn't have minded if you _did_ hurt him." Toushirou replied.

I could tell that he was trying to not get angry; I settled with lightly chuckling at his comment rather than bringing out his anger.

"I've got some news for you," I started.

"I met Hollow Azumi."

He looked at me confused.

"What do you mean?"

I explained everything that happened. The world that's inside my head, the threat from Hollow Azumi, and how I'm able to change back.

"Imuza is exactly like how Kurosaki described his own inner Hollow; violent, with a craving for carnage and control. She's powerful—more so than I am. If I were able to use her more to my advantage, then I think I might just be able to make a difference." I stated.

"Imuza?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's what I've decided to call her from now on—it's irritating saying _Hollow Azumi_ all the time. Since she's my opposite, I figured I'd just spell my name backwards and go with it." I smiled.

"You're saying she's stronger than you are; exactly how do you plan on taking control if she outmatches you?" He asked.

"Wing it, and hope for the best. I really don't have any other option; I mean, if she does beat me," I laid down and pulled the blanket up to my neck.

"Well, we both know what will happen."

I heard Toushirou stand up and walk over. He sat on the arm of the couch by my feet, looking at the window.

"Well, I don't plan on allowing you to be beaten. So we'll just have to work harder." He said.

"That's right, I almost forgot; Soi Fon has agreed to help you in your training." He said; I sat up.

"Who is that?" I asked, cocking an eye.

"Yoruichi's loyal disciple and Taichou of Squad 2." He replied as he rolled his eyes—something I've never seen before; I laughed.

"Well, okie doke then! The more people that like me, the better." I smiled.

Rangiku came in at that moment, and immediately came to my side.

"Azumi-chan, you're awake! How are you feeling? Are you okay?" She asked, putting her hand on my forehead; I chuckled.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't worry." I smiled. "But, I do feel really tired, I think I need to rest a bit more. Can I please just go home?" I asked.

"Of course you can, Azumi-chan! Right, Taichou?" Rangiku turned to him.

"Come on, let's go. It's getting late anyway."

Toushirou stood up and outstretched his hand to help me up. I took it and had him help me to my feet.

Rangiku walked with us back home, and bid us goodnight when we arrived. Toushirou and I walked into the house, and I immediately started heading toward the room to change into something more comfortable. Toushirou stopped me before I got too far.

"You want a snack or something? You should probably try to eat something before you lay down for the night." Toushirou prompted.

"Sure, just something light please; I'm gonna go change real quick, be right back." I smiled and turned around.

I went into my room and got out the pajamas that Rangiku bought me and started changing. For whatever reason, just taking off my clothes seemed really straining; it was almost like I had just worked out really hard and anything requiring movement took a toll.

I quickly put on the pajamas, and sat down on the bed. I put my hands on my knees, crouched over, and tried to relax to catch my breath. After a few seconds, stars begin to invade my vision, and a high-pitched ringing sounded in my ears.

It was then that I knew I was going to faint.

"Toushirou!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Within seconds he was at the door and rushed in.

"What's wrong?" He asked panicked, now at my side.

I couldn't even answer.

I knocked out like someone flicked the "off" switch.

-[×]-

I woke up to the familiar night time forest and massaged my eyelids with my fingers.

"So you thought that you could just leave here with no problems at all?"

I blinked a couple times so my vision could adjust, and saw Imuza leaning against the tree a few feet in front of me.

"Well, I wouldn't quite go that far," I replied, standing up. "What do you want?" I asked.

I already knew the answer, but I figured asking anyway would be appropriate. Maybe she would just talk it out with me instead of there being a physical struggle—one could only hope.

"You are so stupid, Azumi. Seriously? You think I would bring you here just to talk? I've brought you here to settle things; to win my freedom, and to leave you behind in my imprisonment." She pushed herself to a standing position rather than a leaning one, and smirked up at me.

Before she could say anything, I interrupted.

"Why do you want to be so destructive? Honestly, it'd be weird, but I wouldn't mind sharing freedom with you if you didn't seem like such a nut-case. If you could just control yourself, we could both—"

"That's not happening." She cut me off.

"I want it all; not just _partial_ freedom, _full_ freedom! Since you've always had control, you can't possibly understand anything! You're such a fool!" She huffed in frustration.

"There's only one way this is going to go down; I'm going to imprison you, whether you like it or not." She stated.

Yoru no Shedo at that moment landed on my shoulder, and I spoke back.

"Look Imuza, last I checked, I was in control for a reason. I'm not going to just submit without a fight. I hoped that maybe we could settle this with words, but I guess that's out of the question." I told her.

" _Imuza_? Huh, I kind of like it—it's better than Takashita _Azumi_. It's probably the one thought you've ever had that isn't an ignorant one." She belly-laughed before continuing.

"Prepare yourself," She smirked.

Her black pair of earrings glowed white, and an all black Yoru no Shedo with white eyes and claws appeared. For some reason, the white eyes on this Yoru no Shedo creeped me out way more than the original black eyes my Yoru no Shedo had.

The black Yoru no Shedo opened her beak, and a purple Cero shot out at me.

I flashed to the right, and immediately knew which attack I had to use.

"Gaze into the soul, Yoru no Shedo!" I commanded.

Immediately she complied, and my weapons and mask appeared on me. My vision turned green again and I could see absolutely everything.

"Huh, let's see just how _strong_ you think you are," Imuza smirked, and her Yoru no Shedo changed as well into the mask and weapon form; all black.

The battle seemed like it went on forever, and the longer it dragged out, the more dangerous it became.

I flash-stepped up a nearby tree, and got into position for a downward spinning attack. Imuza leapt up toward me and met me half way with her own spinning attack, and we both were pushed back like two spinning tops.

The branches from the tree above scraped my arms as I flew into them, and finally I was able to grab ahold of one to stop myself.

Imuza laughed from the ground at me, and I took the opportunity to launch a Cero at her. She opened her mouth and absorbed it like I had done previously, and I just watched in awe of the sight. She shot it back at me, and I immediately jumped out of the way to dodge it.

She belched loudly as smoke came out of her mouth and nostrils. I didn't really know just how to react to that.

" _Smokin_!" She snickered with a toothy half-smile, pointing a finger at me.

Well, although she was a malevolent, blood-thirsty version of me; she had my humor. I almost laughed, but it was definitely not the time.

The branch I clung to broke, and I started plummeting down toward the ground.

She flashed toward me and slashed my stomach in an outward swipe; I fell to a knee, panting heavily. She laughed in response.

"You are such a weakling! You wouldn't have survived this long without me!" She started laughing manically and came at me again.

I dodged, and fired a Cero at her.

She was able to dodge successfully; she pushed herself off a rock, took another lunge toward me, and connected with a slash to my leg.

"You wanna know the first thing I'm going to do when I'm in control?" She began to say as I ran from her.

Each step I took was more painful than the last; I couldn't run from her for much longer.

"I plan on devouring your precious little _Toushirou_."

I stopped and turned to look at her; she stopped as well with a big smirk on her face.

"His reiatsu has been tempting me this whole time. It's been such a struggle; having to smell him and not being able to devour him. Every night while you both sleep, I lay awake thinking of the sweet moment when I finally take over and make him my first meal. You can thank your feelings for him; it makes him a delicacy of sorts. The more _you_ want him the tastier he looks, and the more _I_ want him." She snickered.

"You won't ever _touch_ him," I snarled and turned my tonfa outward.

That got me.

I never thought that the way I felt about things would affect Imuza. The fact that she felt that way about Toushirou, made me absolutely sick.

"Oh yes I will, with how weak you are—it's only a matter of time!" She laughed and lunged at me again with her left.

I dodged and grabbed the arm. She whipped her free arm at me, and I blocked it. I stared into her eyes and started counting in my head—I needed to distract her.

"You're disgusting—the fact that you're apart of me is sickening. You speak of Yoru no Shedo paying rent, but the way I see it, _you're_ the one that needs to start paying up." I paused, and then uttered the words that hopefully would give me the advantage.

"Petrify the soul,"

Immediately Imuza froze and stiffened like a board.

It worked!

"Listen up, Imuza. From here on out, _I'm_ the one making the rules and calling the shots." I dusted myself off, and took a brief moment to breathe.

"I don't care how much you try, but I will always be here to keep you at bay. Since you are apart of me, you will lend me your powers whenever I deem fit. We're both going to work together to survive; hand in hand. I will learn— _with your help_ —how to change at will. We owe the Shinigami a lot, and we're _going_ to pay them what's due. Understood?" I ordered.

Suddenly she gasped, and I could tell she was about to break through the attack fully.

"Oh, you think you make the rules? Well let me tell you something, Azumi. I will _always_ fight for control. When you least expect it, when your guard is down, I'll come fangs out—ready to suck out every last drop of all the precious things in your life. Count on it!" She snarled at me.

I stabbed her abdomen. Not completely through, but deeply.

"You will never, _ever_ take the things I cherish most." I took out my tonfa, and kicked her to the ground.

She smirked angrily up at me, and her legs started fading away in pieces, back toward the river.

"For now, _you stupid brat._ " Imuza said as she completely faded away.

Yoru no Shedo reverted back to her original form and perched herself on my shoulder.

"Thank you for all your help, Yoru." I reached up with my opposite hand and pet her.

"Of course, Master. You've become stronger as time has progressed. But Imuza—as you call her—also grows stronger as you do. Be careful, Master." She cautioned.

"Thank you again, Yoru, I will."

I felt my eyes get heavy, and I began to fall.

It felt like I just kept falling.

I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything—just pitch black.

Suddenly, I heard a sound—like someone was talking. I forced my eyes open, and after searching for what seemed like hours, I finally found a light.

I reached for it, and the closer I became, the more the sound started to get lower.

"No!" I shouted.

I turned over and swam toward it.

I blinked, and when my eyes opened, I was staring at a ceiling.

"Sh-She's awake!" An unfamiliar voice said.

"Takashita!" A worried Toushirou called.

I turned my head and saw Toushirou next to me along with some unfamiliar boy and Rangiku.

"Azumi-chan! You're awake! Are you okay?" Rangiku asked, coming over to me as well.

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry to worry you guys! Who is this?" I asked, looking at the boy.

"This is Yamada Hanataro, the 7th seat of Squad 4. He came over to make sure you were okay; Squad 4 is our health unit." Rangiku explained.

I outstretched a hand to him.

"You most likely already know, but I'm Takashita Azumi. It's nice to meet you; thank you for making sure I was okay!" I smiled.

He grabbed my hand gently and nervously.

"You're very welcome, Takashita-san. I-I'm glad you're feeling okay now." He smiled sheepishly.

I let go of his hand and he stood up.

"Is there anything else I can do for you? How do you feel?" He asked.

"Oh, no! You've done enough, I'm all better now! Just more tired than I realized I suppose." I grinned.

"I see, that's good to hear; in that case, I'll be off. Please let me know any time you don't feel well. Have a good evening," Hanataro bowed.

"Thanks, you too!" I said.

"Thank you for your help, Yamada." Toushirou said.

"Of course, Hitsugaya-Taichou, not a problem at all!" Hanatarou exhaled with a small chuckle.

With that, he left and then Rangiku got up as well.

"Well, if you're okay now, then I'll be going back home. If you need absolutely _anything_ , please be sure to call!" Rangiku said with motherly authority.

"Yes _Mom_ , you got it," I snickered.

She hugged me tightly for a moment, and let go.

"Honestly, you worry me sometimes, Azumi-chan! I'll be sure to keep a better eye on you," she winked.

"Goodnight you two,"

She smiled and when we bid her goodnight, walked out the door.

I looked over at Toushirou, and he looked back at me.

I couldn't help but remember what Imuza said about him, and it immediately made me cringe.

"What's wrong, Azumi?" He asked.

I forced a small smile.

"Nothing, thank you for sending for help; I'm sorry I worried you." I said as I put my hand over his.

I immediately regretted the contact, but I couldn't help myself.

He turned his hand up and gripped mine for a moment.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

"It was Imuza," I said, taking my hand away.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I fainted because of her—she was trying to take over."

Toushirou moved ever so slightly, and for whatever reason, it made me really take in the situation. Tears started welling up.

"I finally understand what Kurosaki meant. Imuza said that she will never stop trying to take over. At the moment, I'm able to keep her at bay, but…" a couple tears rolled down my cheeks.

"But if she ever does take over, she plans on killing everyone." I choked back a sob. "And the first person she wants is…"

I put my hands over my face; I couldn't compose myself at that moment. Toushirou put a hand on my shoulder.

"The first person she wants to eat is…" I looked over at him. "Is you."

He didn't move; he looked away from me for just a moment, and then when I spoke looked back.

"But I'm not going to _ever_ let that happen. I'll kill myself before I ever let her touch you, Toushirou." I said with determination.

"I know you wont, Azumi; I believe that you will become strong enough to overcome Imuza. Don't worry about me, and certainly don't kill yourself." He said gently.

I could tell that he was trying to not be too stern with me because I was being emotional. I didn't argue with him, but it most certainly was the truth. If it came down to it, if she was planning on hurting Toushirou or anyone else for that matter, then there was no question for what had to be done.

I held up my pinky to Toushirou.

He looked at it confused, and before he could ask, I explained.

"I need you to promise me that if I ever get out of hand, and I can't control myself enough to stop, that you will be the one to kill me."

"Azumi,"

"Promise me." I said.

He folded his arms.

"No."

I looked at him with shock.

He always shook on it, even if he didn't agree with it.

"I won't promise you this because I know you're not going to let it get to that point. I believe in you, Azumi."

I took in his words, and my hand slowly dropped down to the bed.

"At least one of us is confident." I chuckled sarcastically.

He didn't say anything.

I wiped my face off and he got up. He grabbed a plate from the dresser with some orange slices and handed it to me.

"Here, eat this at least. Then we'll go to sleep—it's already past midnight." He said; I smiled.

"Thanks, Toushirou." I started eating.

"Don't worry about it." He said again.

He walked toward the door, and stopped at the doorframe.

"Azumi,"

I paused before eating another slice.

"Why does Imuza want me first?" He asked.

I gulped.

He didn't move, and didn't turn back around to face me—he just stood there looking into the dark hallway.

"Because,"

I set down the tray on the nightstand next to me.

"Because out of everyone, you're the one I care the most about. You're the one that's been there through my tears and my fears. You're the main reason I'm able to sleep soundly at night, the reason why I haven't gone insane…she wants you because you're the one I—"

What the Hell was I doing?

I went way too far; this would only make things worse.

"The one I consider to be my best friend," I clenched the covers and looked away.

"I see," he said.

He walked away at that moment, and I instantly lost my appetite. I laid back down and positioned myself under the covers.

I had to stop these feelings one way or another before Imuza takes control.

Before I…

…lose all control of myself.


	26. Chapter 26

A week went by, and as each day passed, I met more and more Shinigami. Some friendly, some not so friendly, and some that were just down right scared of me. Most of them were unranked Shinigami, but I did meet a couple Taichou and Fukutaichou.

I'd discovered that Kyoraku and Ukitake were freaking awesome. Beside Toushirou, they were my two favorite Taichou. I liked Soi Fon, but she kind of seemed a little bit on edge with me—mad almost. Toushirou said she's really attached to Yoruichi; one would think that she'd like me since we have a mutual friend, but I guess not. Oh well though, the fact that she recognized me as a person was good enough for me.

Since a week had passed, it was time to visit the World of the Living. I was kind of excited because I'd get to pick up a couple things and see the modern world I was more accustomed to.

"Ready?" Rangiku asked.

"You know it!" I grinned.

I looked at the gate in front of us and took a deep breath.

"Let's go," Toushirou said, and all of us in unison went through.

We had to use a special gate because of what I am; it looked like a weird moist cave. Toushirou had previously instructed that we had to run through because of some type of cleaner that swept through. I wanted to see what it looked like, but I figured it'd be better to follow orders.

We ran at a decent pace, and then finally reached a light at the end of the tunnel.

Let me just say that I had no idea it would let us out so far above the ground.

"Shit!" I shrieked as I fell.

Rangiku grabbed me by my wrist and laughed as she pulled me up.

"That was great! The look on your face was priceless, Azumi-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up! It would've been nice to have a little warning!" I pouted.

"One should always be prepared for anything," Toushirou chimed in.

"Oh whatever! You all know I'm not that coordinated!" I replied.

"Oh, we know," Rangiku commented with a chuckle.

I stared at her intensely, and then turned to look at Toushirou, who was smirking.

"Rude." I folded my arms.

"Oh, stop, come on now!" Rangiku patted my back and looped her arm in mine.

"Yeah yeah," I replied, cracking a smile.

We landed on a rooftop nearby, and Toushirou whipped out his phone.

"I don't see anything yet," he stated.

"So, we just wait here?" I asked; he nodded.

There was no moon out tonight, just stars. I sat down on the cold concrete and looked up at them—they really seemed to be glowing tonight. Rangiku sat next to me while Toushirou remained standing. He walked over to the far edge of the roof on his phone, and Rangiku took the opportunity to talk—or should I say whisper—to me.

"So, have you told him how you feel yet?"

The normal breath I took became sharp and short, and made an audible sound. My head snapped at Toushirou's direction—he wasn't looking.

Thank God.

"What kind of question is that?" I harshly whispered.

"A good one," she giggled.

I interlaced my fingers together in a nervous fashion. Rangiku still waiting for my answer nudged me a little bit. I gave her an agitated look, which she must've thought was cute. I shook my head and exhaled my reply.

"Well, I almost said it accidentally," I admitted sheepishly.

"Oh I see," she smirked.

"So when do you plan on really coming out with it?" She asked.

My lips formed a hard line.

"Never. I'm a freak, remember? I can't just have normal relationships like that; you guys—"

Rangiku grabbed my lips and pinched them shut. Needless to say, it definitely caught me off guard—I almost shrieked.

"Don't give me that, Azumi-chan! Love is love; species or race don't matter. Come on, by now you should know that we're all used to weird things. I'm not implying that you specifically are _weird_ ; I'm implying that abnormalities are just normal. Sure, there's fuss over you at the moment because they think you're dangerous, but once that's over, you'll blend right in!" She smiled.

"I think it'll work out between the two of you. It'd have to be a secret of course, but who cares!" She giggled.

Although her words meant a lot, I still felt uneasy.

"Yeah, and when Aizen is killed and I return back to the real world? Then what?" I asked.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get there, that's what. First of all, we don't even know if you'll age past your current age. You might just have to stay in the Soul Society." She said.

The thought completely took me off guard—she had a point. Hell, I didn't know if I was even alive; it kind of made me feel a lot better about the situation. Living out my years in the Soul Society with Rangiku and Toushirou…that didn't sound bad at all. I grinned.

"See? You need to quit being such a pessimist!" She ruffled my hair. "Now, about you telling Taichou—"

"Telling me what?"

Rangiku and I froze.

My face was completely blank and I slowly turned over to Rangiku and gave her a 'don't-you-freaking-dare' look.

"T-That uh, well, I'll leave it to Azumi-chan to tell you!" Rangiku laughed and scurried away.

I shot her the most evil look I could muster before Toushirou cleared his throat.

"Uh, that you, uh, need a television in your house! Yeah! On our days off we should totally watch movies, but we can't because we don't have a television! You should really consider it!" I squeaked out, trying to convince even myself.

"I'll think about it. Let me know when you actually want to tell me what you _really_ want." He put his hand in his pocket and turned away.

Damn, I was no good at quick comebacks.

I chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah yeah," I smiled—I was lucky that he wasn't making a fuss about it.

His phone beeped, and he immediately flipped it open.

"There's 3 Hollows nearby," he stated, pushing the buttons on his phone.

"Ready?" He asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I sighed.

We all flash-stepped toward them, and arrived on the scene. There were 2 ghost children being chased by 3 wolf-looking Hollows.

"Matsumoto, get the kids." Toushirou ordered.

"Hai, Taichou!" She responded.

She flash-stepped and swooped up both the kids in one-go. The Hollows tried to follow her, but Toushirou and I intercepted them.

"Shred the sins of the flesh," I chanted.

Immediately Yoru no Shedo complied, and materialized in my hands.

I heard one of the wolves growl, and it immediately jumped at me. I slashed at it in defense, and cut it in the action.

"I'll keep these 2 at bay; that one's yours," Toushirou said before one of them attacked him.

He dodged thankfully, and I exhaled in relief.

I looked at the injured one. I got its leg, and I saw it's blood dripping on the floor. The sight of the blood already had me salivating. It was only then that I realized; could I do this without becoming a full Hollow?

' _No, you can't, because you're just a weakling._ ' Imuza said in my head.

" _You, shut up!"_ I mentally yelled at her.

The wolf broke my mental conversation with a howl, and I nearly shrieked.

Mid-howl, I decided to lunge toward him. He tried to dodge, but because I had two tonfa, he could only escape one. I pinned him to the ground, tonfa up against his neck as he growled and snipped at me. In all honesty, I didn't think it would be this easy to pin him, but I wasn't complaining.

With the close proximity, the scent and sight of the Hollow's blood numbed my other senses. I could feel my fangs protruding, and my vision growing dark.

"I'm not going to let you!" I said aloud to Imuza.

I didn't waste another moment; I bit into the Hollow's shoulder with no remorse.

It seemed strange almost; feeding while not in my Hollow form—but it didn't make it any less euphoric. I could hear Imuza yelling something at me in the background, but I completely tuned her out and enjoyed the meal.

Finally, when the Hollow was out of reiatsu and completely disintegrated, I stood up and wiped my mouth. I looked around, and noticed that my vision was still growing dark. I took it as I needed another one. Suddenly, I felt the familiar bile start to develop in my stomach.

' _How dare you feed me that vegan-shit! I told you, I'm a carnivore! I'm not settling for less!'_ Imuza yelled at me.

"Well tough-freaking luck, you asshole." I managed to say aloud before I coughed up some of my white-liquid Hierro.

"Shit," I cursed.

I scanned the area for Toushirou and finally found him a little ways off. I could already feel Imuza trying to take control; I had to hurry.

I flash-stepped over there as fast and I could, and swiped at one of the Hollow Toushirou was fighting. He didn't seem shocked at my arrival, but it definitely distracted him for the moment.

"Are you through?" He asked before swinging Hyourinmaru at the Hollow in front of him.

"Not yet, I—" I stopped and coughed up more of the armor.

The Hollow took advantage of this and leapt at me; claws out, fangs out.

"Azumi!" Toushirou yelled.

At that moment, I lost all control of myself.

I rose my arm and stopped the Hollow mid-air, but it wasn't me who did it. Then, with little effort, I rose my opposite hand and launched a full-blown Cero at the Hollow; completely killing it.

It was like I was there, but at the same time I wasn't—what the Hell was going on?

"Long time no see, _handsome_ , _"_ Imuza said aloud.

Oh shit.

Toushirou looked at me, or should I say my Imuza-possessed body in confusion.

"Here, let me help you out," she smirked.

She flash-stepped to the Hollow and with a single punch, completely killed it.

"Azumi, what are you doing?" Toushirou asked with a serious tone.

"Ew. Don't confuse me with that disgusting brat!" She snorted.

"It's your friendly neighborhood Imuza here; won't you lend me a cup of sugar?" She cackled.

She bent over and let some of the white liquid ooze out of our mouth and spread down over our shoulders. Our mask suddenly appeared, and she positioned it to hang off the corner of our head.

"Come on, play with me," she smirked and got into an offensive stance.

"Imuza, I don't want to fight you; you need to let Azumi go immediately." Toushirou said sternly.

"Not a chance in Hell." She retorted.

"Here I come, handsome!"

Imuza flipped her tonfa outward and attempted a quick spin attack at Toushirou. He dodged, and kept his distance.

"Oh, come on! I don't have cooties!" She laughed.

"You sleep next to this wretched body every night—you shouldn't be afraid! Ne, _Shirou-chan?_ "

She stuck her hand out and a Cero launched straight at Toushirou—thank God he was able to evade it. She coughed up more of the white liquid and it started covering our arms.

" _Listen up, you're done! I'm done being controlled! You're going back where you belong!"_ I mentally yelled at her.

I tried to regain control, but couldn't figure out how. Normally I was in the dark forest, but this time was different. Imuza took over while I wasn't in full Hollow form. The only thing I could think of was just sheer willpower.

She chased after Toushirou as if they were playing a game. Toushirou didn't attack, but I couldn't say the same for Imuza. She was slashing away and launching Ceros left and right. If I didn't do something soon, one was going to eventually hit Toushirou.

"Stop running, honey! Come on, didn't you once say this body was attractive? I thought you had a crush on me? Stop playing with my emotions!" She said as she stopped, cackling at her own sarcasm.

Toushirou stopped for a moment as well, staring at us.

"You guys are such weaklings; love is for the weak! Give me a break! It's sickening watching the two of you pretend you don't have feelings for each other. On top of that, having to feel all the emotions stupid Azumi has whenever you're around is tiring and upsetting. Makes me want to throw up just thinking about it! It's such a shame Azumi is such a moron; I have to be stuck in her stupid body!" Imuza said.

She…just said that...

...to Toushirou.

Like it wasn't a big deal or anything!

Before he could even respond, Imuza called out her Yoru no Shedo, and she materialized next to her.

"Slave, attack this puny punk!" Imuza pointed at Toushirou.

Immediately, the other Yoru dove at Toushirou with her speed, and he narrowly avoided her attack. She came at him again and landed on his forearm. Before she was able to launch the Cero forming in her beak, Toushirou punched her off his arm and flash-stepped away.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" Toushirou chanted.

The chain and blade appeared coming from the hilt of his Zanpakuto, and immediately he slashed at the air; sending an ice dragon toward the other Yoru.

The other Yoru allowed the dragon to chase her for a little bit—which was odd considering her speed. The dragon finally began to catch up and she quickly sharp-turned at Toushirou's direction. She finally utilized her speed and dove at Toushirou again. Right before she would've made impact, she pulled herself up, sending the ice dragon after her directly back at Toushirou.

Imuza started laughing at the display. Who knows what she was thinking to be laughing so uncontrollably.

It was a good attempt on the other Yoru's part, but Toushirou was far too smart to let himself be hit by his own attack. He slashed again and released another dragon that completely ripped through the first dragon and then headed straight for Imuza.

Imuza definitely saw it coming, and she definitely could've dodged the attack with her amount of power, but she didn't. She let the ice dragon hit us and wrap itself around us like a snake; still laughing.

"What's so funny?" Toushirou asked, still on guard.

Imuza took deep breaths to help stop her laughter.

"You. You're hilarious. The fact that you're already using your Shikai with such low-level attacks is hilarious. It just proves how weak you really are! The fact that you're trying to act all high-and-mighty like you can beat me literally makes me want to fall over laughing!"

With one quick gesture, Imuza broke free of the Ice dragon and lunged herself at Toushirou. She threw him to the ground—herself on top of him—holding him against the concrete.

"See? Look how easy it was for me to pin you down!" She laughed again.

"Aw man, too good! The only thing that sucks is that this isn't as rewarding as I thought it would be; what a shame," She grinned.

This was bad.

This was very, very bad.

She was about to eat Toushirou!

I needed to regain control and needed to do it quick! Imuza's control hardly had any openings that I could wiggle through. She was like a brick wall I couldn't break through no matter how hard I pounded on it with my fists.

"Your incorrect, Imuza." Toushirou suddenly said.

In an instant, he turned the tables on Imuza and flipped her over so that she was pinned down underneath him.

"It was easy for you to pin me because I let you do so. I've been taking it easy on you as well." He paused, and swiftly head-butted the shit out of Imuza.

"Azumi, get back out here already!" He shouted.

Finally; this was it—a crack in Imuza's defenses!

I had such a hard head to begin with, that it made sense for another hard head to break through.

I immediately took the invitation and squeezed my way though the opening. I could feel myself regaining control.

Imuza pushed Toushirou off and started squirming around, holding her head.

"No! Stop it, Azumi! You're not getting control!" She shouted aloud.

She kept screaming a sickening, voice-shaking scream as she violent jerked around on the ground. After a few more seconds, I was back in control.

I inhaled loudly, and propped myself up on my elbows. I reached up and threw off the mask, then started trying to rip off the Hierro over my arms. It wouldn't come off without bleeding and hurt like Hell.

I needed another Hollow and I needed it fast. If I didn't completely change back, Imuza could easily take control again. She was already yelling and getting louder inside my head.

I looked over at Toushirou, who was just standing there staring right back at me. I looked away, afraid to say anything beside what had to be said.

"Toushirou, I need another Hollow or else Imuza will take over again. Now!"

Although I knew I shouldn't have left on my own, I did anyway. I heard Toushirou shouting at me, but I couldn't afford to have a full-on conversation or to think of a plan. All I knew was that if Imuza took over again tonight, we'd all be up shit creek.

I raised my reiatsu in hopes of luring another hollow. I wasn't running too fast, and I constantly scanned the area to see if there were any.

Finally, in an alley between two buildings; there was a Hollow feasting on a soul.

Without any hesitation, I tackled the Hollow and pinned it to the ground. I used my outward-pointing tonfa to help me separate it's head and shoulder as far as possible without decapitation. I stabbed right into it's neck and sucked the innards out of it.

Once it disintegrated, I took a moment to breath. I didn't even have to look to know that Toushirou was right there watching the whole thing. I ignored him for the time being while I ripped off the rest of my Hierro and let Yoru no Shedo revert to her dormant form.

The scene where Imuza told him about my emotions toward him kept playing back in my head; how in the Hell was I supposed to talk to him now? After Imuza went off and spouted all kinds of nonsense, I felt like there was no going back now. Maybe I could get away with just avoiding it altogether—fat chance.

I dusted myself off and walked over to Toushirou. He was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed, staring up into the night sky.

"I'm sorry I took off; I felt like Imuza was going to take over again, so I wanted to hurry up and change back. I know it was irresponsible, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. Again, I'm sorry." I said, staring up at him.

"I understand." He said, and I immediately exhaled in relief.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"Much better. I can't hear Imuza in my head at the moment; which is always a good thing. At least I learned that I'm more vulnerable to being taken over when I need to feed or have bloodlust. So I guess this was a good, yet bad learning experience." I explained sheepishly.

There was a brief moment of silence, and I spoke up again.

"Toushirou, I'm sorry that she attacked you. I told you that I wouldn't let her harm you, and here she was, making me break my promise…I'm sorry it took me so long," I said, staring down at the ground.

"You didn't break your promise; she didn't harm me. Don't beat yourself up about what happened; it's in the past." He paused and walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"The fact that you were able to overcome her control that quickly was impressive. I told you that you would be able to do it—just take one step at a time, Azumi." He said.

How the Hell did he do it?

He made me feel so much better about this whole situation in less than 10 seconds. He didn't even say that much, but his comforting gesture made me feel like everything would be okay.

I felt a small smile creep up on my face.

"Thank you, your words mean a lot. Without your support—and mind-boggling head-butt—I don't think I would be able to get through all of this. I owe you," I looked up at him.

"No, you don't owe me anything. Is your head okay?" He asked, pushing my bangs away to inspect my forehead.

I couldn't help but blush at the contact.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm more worried about your head; you pretty much hit concrete," I shoved him playfully with a hesitant chuckle.

Rangiku showed up at the scene, and walked over to us.

"Is everyone all right? How did it all go?" She asked, switching off between looking at both our faces.

"It went fine—she's already finished. Right?" Toushirou asked me.

"Right; I'm all set to go! Can we stop by my house? I want to check on things." I asked.

I remembered that my house was recently broken into and wanted to see if the place had been completely ransacked or if it was still doing okay.

"Sounds good to me," Rangiku said.

"What happened to the two kids?" I asked.

"I sent them over when you guys were taking too long. I didn't know if you guys wanted to talk to the two kids or not, so I waited for a bit." She explained.

"Oh I see. Well, at least they're safe." I smiled. "I'm ready when you guys are."

We flash-stepped back to the house. It looked the same as ever, but I knew that I had to be careful. There might just be someone lurking about—the same someone that came in to take my things.

Toushirou took out the house key he had and opened the front door.

"Stay here," he ordered.

Rangiku and I nodded as he entered the house. After a few minutes, he came back to the door and let us in.

I looked around at the place, but it almost didn't seem like home. It didn't look lively and warm—only cold and barren. Now that I thought about it, the only reason this place felt like home to begin with was because of the people that stayed with me. With no one occupying it, this was just a house full of hurtful memories.

I walked up the stairs while the two of them stayed down. I walked into my parents room and saw it all still in tact. I walked in and sat on their bed. I hadn't thought about them in a while. I was so preoccupied with everything that was going on that I…

"Oh my God!" I paused to slap myself.

"You freaking moronic piece of shit!" I cursed at myself.

"What's going on?" Toushirou rushed in.

After looking around the room, he exhaled in relief.

"Are you okay?" He asked; I put my face in my hands.

Rangiku came in at that point, and sat on the bed next to me.

"What happened, Azumi-chan?" She asked, putting a hand on my lap.

"I'm pissed off. I've been in the Soul Society this whole time, and I didn't even track down my parents! What an ungrateful piece of shit daughter I turned out to be!" I said angrily.

"Hey, cool down, Azumi-chan; you're not like that at all. Things have gone haywire lately, and we've all been stressed out; _you_ more than anyone. It will take some time before we can track them down, so you have to be patient. It doesn't make you a bad daughter; they are fine, and they will be there when we get back. You shouldn't beat yourself up about it, that isn't what your parents would want." She comforted.

"You may be right, but it doesn't make me any less pissed off—at least not right at this moment." I replied.

"That's our stubborn, Azumi-chan! Use that to your advantage and start looking into it when we get back to the Soul Society, okay?" Rangiku smiled and pinched my cheek.

I furrowed my brows and rubbed my sore cheek. She giggled in response.

"Speaking of which," Toushirou started.

"We should start heading back soon." He stated nonchalantly.

Rangiku patted my lap and stood up.

"Come on, Azumi-chan. Let's get some of your stuff." she smiled down at me.

"Sounds good," I took a deep breath to control myself and got up.

"Don't let me forget my music player, by the way. I don't think I can take another week without my music." I said seriously.

I gathered a few things that I needed—like my makeup and music player for instance—and put them in a small sack I brought with me from the Soul Society. The most important thing I took was another picture I found of just my parents. I put it in one of the nice frames my Mom had, and made sure that it was secured in my bag. I looked at the small cat toy Toushirou won for me at the carnival and smiled. I put it in the bag with my stuff before locking up my room.

I made sure to lock all the windows and all the doors, along with unplugging almost everything. I wondered exactly what was going to happen to this place if I indeed had to stay in the Soul Society indefinitely. I'd be happy to, but it would also be sad leaving this place behind, even if all the memories here are now hurtful.

I met up with Toushirou and Rangiku in the living room, and without another moment to spare, Toushirou called the Soul Society to open up the gate.


	27. Chapter 27

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

While we traveled back to the Soul Society, all that was on my mind were the things Imuza said to me earlier.

Was it true that Azumi also had feelings for me?

" **Master, it's obvious."** Hyourinmaru answered.

" _How so? The way she acts is just her personality,"_ I replied.

" **You may be a prodigy, Master, but you are still so naïve when it comes to this subject in particularly."**

Although he was most likely correct, I decided not to reply back.

As I thought more about it, I realized that she didn't act that way around other males; only me. I'd watched her while she was around Kurosaki or Abarai, and even Hideki Katsu, and she didn't talk to any of them like she did with me.

It was always in an acquaintance way that she interacted with them. Of course with Hideki she didn't know what to do in the awkward situations he put her in because she felt indebted to him, but other than that she was almost cold with him.

What was it that made her act differently with me?

Normally, females kept their distance from me. There have been occasions where some have been brave enough to try to strike up a conversation, but because of my rank and not to mention my personality, it didn't last very long. It never really bothered me; it wasn't everyday that I thought about trying to find someone to have a relationship of that nature with. My main focus had always been in my responsibilities as a Taichou and serving for the greater good.

Now it felt like I thought about all these miniscule things like they were of great importance. As if everything else didn't matter except these thoughts. But what good was to come out of it? I had already told myself that I wasn't going to let my feelings get in the way of everything, yet here I was letting them. Ever since I properly analyzed my emotions, they were all I could think about.

How this completely opposite-ended spectrum female appealed to me was incomprehensible—yet, here I was. Each passing day, sinking like a rock in an ocean for this girl.

And now with what Imuza said; Azumi had feelings for me too? Let's just pour a little more oil into the flames. Now it seemed like it was going to be impossible to get over this.

As soon as we got back to the Soul Society, Matsumoto decided that she was going to get go drinks with Hisagi and Kira. She left immediately upon our arrival, and so Azumi and I went back to the house.

After settling in, I made some tea and sat down at the table with a blank report form and a pen. The Soutaichou no doubt would want to know about what happened in the World of the Living, so while it was fresh in my memory I started jotting it down.

"Still working? Come on, when you're home you should relax!" Azumi smiled and sat on the couch in the living room.

"There will probably be a meeting tomorrow, I have to finish this report for the Soutaichou." I replied.

It was silent for a little while as I finished writing the report. Azumi had shifted down to a horizontal position on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey Toushirou," she started.

"Yes?" I replied.

"I'm sorry about the things Imuza said to you; she can be even more vulgar than I am." She said.

Now seemed like a good opportunity to bring up what's been on my mind this whole time, but the question was whether or not I should. If I did bring it up, and she did say she had feelings toward me, what then? We both already knew what would happen—it can't happen, and I can't _let_ it happen, but my curiosity outweighed every rational thought. I grit my teeth and tried to push the feeling away, but was failing.

"Did I make you angry? I'm sorry, that wasn't my intent," she broke my concentration.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked over at her.

"No, you didn't; sorry, I got lost in the report. I already told you, don't worry about what happened with Imuza, it's fine." I replied and looked back down at the report in front of me.

It was for the best that I didn't ask—in fact, avoiding the topic entirely was for the best. I'm glad I was able to suppress my curiosity.

"Thanks, Toushirou…" she trailed off. "You don't have any questions…about anything?"

Was she serious?

Now she was deliberately 'egging' me on.

I exhaled, trying to compose myself. I could tell she sat up and was staring at me; I took another breath and answered her.

"No, not at the moment," I replied without a crack in my voice.

After a few seconds, she finally answered.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure." She replied.

It seemed like a hesitant reply, but I took it and didn't ask questions.

She got up and walked over toward the hallway leading to the spare room she was staying in. After a few more minutes, I closed the report and got up. It was late and with everything that happened, I was ready for sleep.

I thought about just how nice my own bed sounded, but I'd feel bad if I just left Azumi. Even though it wasn't for the best, I'm sure I'd end up letting her sleep with me in my own bed. I walked over toward the guest room and walked in to see Azumi holding onto something.

I walked closer and saw that it was a picture of her parents. I sat down next to her and looked at the picture with her.

"I'll send someone tomorrow," I said.

She looked over at me in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"A promise is a promise; I'm going to send someone into the Rukongai tomorrow to search for your parents. At the moment, I myself can't go because I'm required to stay here safeguarding you, but I can definitely send someone to start searching. Then, after some time, you and I can both go search." I replied.

She stared at me for a moment, then wrapped her arms around me.

"Toushirou, you have no idea how much this means to me," she nuzzled her head into my neck.

At first, I didn't know how to react.

Her touching me...it was a feeling that I couldn't get enough of—it gave me such a light-hearted feeling, as if nothing else mattered but her. I could feel her tearing up. I immediately put a hand on the back of her head.

"Baka, you shouldn't be crying," I said with a sigh.

She giggled and used one of her hands to wipe her eyes.

"But they're tears of joy! I can't help it!" She sniffled.

"I owe you so much, Toushirou, how can I ever thank you?"

"You don't owe me anything, Azumi. I've already told you that." I replied.

"Oh but I do, Toushirou!" She pushed herself off me and looked me dead in the eye.

"I'm going to make this up to you, whether you like it or not! Understand?" She practically shouted.

"Even if I tell you not to, you're just going to do it anyway." I leaned back.

"You're damn right I am! You name it, and it's yours! I promise!" She grinned with determination.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get right on that," I replied sarcastically.

"I'm going to go lay down now; I've got a lot to do tomorrow. Are you staying up?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm pretty worn out myself, I'll lay down as well." She got up and placed the picture on the desk in front of the bed.

"I was planning on sleeping in my own bed tonight," I started.

Immediately her demeanor dropped.

"O-Oh, okay Toushirou, I understand." She said, completely avoiding eye contact.

She looked like a puppy that just got in trouble; droopy with her tail in between her legs. She walked over the bed and lifted the covers up half-heartedly, and I couldn't help but chuckle. She looked over at me, and I cocked an eye at her.

"Don't start with that look, you can come too since you have trouble sleeping by yourself." I said, rubbing one of my eyes.

It was like I brought out a ball to play fetch. She snapped back into that cheerful demeanor of hers and put the cover back up.

"Hooray! It gets too lonely by myself! I bet your bed is more comfy than this one anyway!" She grinned and walked past me.

" **What was that about 'getting over your feelings' for her?"** Hyourinmaru snickered.

" _Shut up."_ I huffed.

-[×]-

The next morning I dropped Azumi off at the office with Matsumoto and went to the Taichou meeting. There was nothing in particularly that stood out to me; it was all about things I already knew, and the orders I already knew about.

After the Soutaichou dismissed everyone, he asked me to stay behind to inform him how things were progressing with Azumi. I handed him the report I filled out last night, and briefly explained what happened verbally. He didn't really respond to any of the information, just nodded on occasion. At the end of the explanation, he just thanked me and dismissed me—which was completely fine with me. The less I had to talk to the Soutaichou about the situation the better.

I decided to walk back to Tenth Division rather than flash-step. It seemed like a nice day, and some time to gather my thoughts was definitely needed. I thought about last night—I ended up having trouble falling asleep, and stayed up long after Azumi fell asleep next to me.

I stared at her for a while, took in her sleeping features and wondered what the Hell I should do. Although I already knew the answer, it was hard not to just give in and tell her how I felt.

"Hey there, Hitsugaya-Taichou,"

I turned around to see Hinamori.

She held her hands together and took cautious steps toward me.

"Hey," I responded.

She stopped right in front of me, and didn't make eye contact. She often did this when she was at a loss for words but still had something to say.

"I wanted to let you know that I'll be visiting Obaa-san in a few days. She's been sicker than usual lately and I wanted to stop by to check in on her. I'm sure she'd like it if you came with me." She said.

I had no idea that she wasn't doing well.

I hadn't been to visit her in a while; I felt terrible about it, but I had so many obligations that I couldn't just leave. But now it seemed like I had no other choice but to make time.

"What day do you plan on going?" I asked.

"Sunday; our day off." She replied.

"All right; I'll go with you." I replied.

She smiled lightly, and looked at me. "Thanks, I'm sure it would mean the world to her,"

"There isn't a need for thanks, Hinamori. It isn't an issue," I told her.

"About the other day," She changed the subject, her smile turning into a frown.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry—I shouldn't have gone as far as I did. I hope that you can forgive me,"

"You don't owe _me_ an apology, Hinamori, you owe it to Takashita. She didn't do anything wrong, and you lashed out for no reason. Forget about my feelings; hers are the ones you should be concerned about." I told her.

"You're right; today I'll stop by and apologize to her as well." She began, and then I interrupted her.

"But, I do have to make sure of something, Hinamori." I started; she looked at me with slight confusion.

"Are you putting all the Aizen business behind you like I told you?"

Immediately she looked away, twiddling her thumbs.

"Y-Yes, I am." She responded, half-heartedly.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." I responded.

"Thank you, Hitsugaya-Taichou." She slightly bowed.

"Hinamori, listen—you deserve an apology as well. While I don't regret being harsh with you, I regret forcing you of all people to call me by my title. From here forward, you can call me Toushirou when it isn't business-related or there are fellow Shinigami. You of all people have that right, since we've gone so far back together. My apologies for taking it too far the other day." I explained.

Immediately her expression lit up, and she hugged me like back when I was a kid.

"Thanks, little Shirou-chan! That means the world to me!" She squealed.

"Hey! I said nothing about ' _Shirou-chan'_ being okay!" I shot back, trying to pry her off me.

She just giggled in response.

"Okay Shirou-chan, I've got to get going; I'll for sure see you on Sunday!" She smiled that innocent smile of hers.

Seeing her smile like that reminded me of the old days—it warmed my heart in a lot of ways.

I waved back to her, and turned around to head back to my office.

-[×]-

The rest of the days of the week flew by; no outbursts from Imuza, or anything quite out of the ordinary. Hinamori apologized to Azumi—which was a good thing—and Azumi just smiled and forgot all about it.

Azumi continued her training with Matsumoto and Soi Fon, and started getting the hang of using Yoru no Shedo to her advantage. She felt more confident about it as the days went by.

It was finally Sunday, and I met up with Hinamori at her home and started heading out toward the Rukongai with her. She wore a white and pink flower petal kimono while I wore a casual black one so as not to intimidate anyone while we were in the Rukongai. Although the fact that we took our Zanpakuto with us did look a little intimidating.

I left Azumi with Matsumoto today, and those two decided to take a day off and go out to the local stores in the Seireitei. Well, Matsumoto decided that anyway, Azumi went along to see the sights and because she didn't have a choice in the matter.

Hinamori talked to me mainly about the things that have happened while I've been away. Things that have happened within her Squad, outside her Squad, and other useless things. It was good hearing her ramble on about all the miniscule things and expressing her emotions; it felt like the old Hinamori was starting to come back little by little.

We stopped by the marketplace to pick up some ingredients to make Obaa-san some soup, and then headed over. Nothing had changed at all in this district. The same buildings, the same people, the same feelings of unsafety and greed. I hated how much Obaa-san still lived here. But there was nothing any of us could do about it; unless you become a Shinigami, you're stuck in the Rukongai.

We finally arrived at her house, and knocked hard on the door so she could hear us. She finally responded with a mumble, and Hinamori took that as a sign to open the door.

Obaa-san was lying on her tatami mat, and looked weaker than I'd ever seen her.

"Hi, Obaa-san; it's Toushirou and Momo," Hinamori announced.

She sat up as far as she could and smiled a small smile.

"Momo-chan, Shirou-chan, I'm so happy to see you," she said.

"Hi, Obaa-san," I said, crouching down to her side and putting my hand over hers.

She smiled and put a hand to my cheek, and looked at my face.

"You've grown so much, Shirou-chan," she said ass her smile widened; she looked over at Hinamori.

"You too, Momo-chan. How are you two?" She asked.

"We're both fine, Obaa-san, how are you feeling? We heard you've been sicker than usual, so we decided to stop by to check up on you." Hinamori told her.

"I'm all right at the moment; thank you both for coming, I really appreciate it." She smiled back at me.

I smiled back and held her hand.

"We've brought some ingredients to make some soup, Obaa-san; hopefully it will make you feel better." I told her.

Hinamori held up the ingredients to show her, and then I got up to start making it.

After a few hours, it was time to leave and head back to the Seireitei. As we were about to leave, there was a knock on the door, and a woman called out to see if Obaa-san was home.

"Come in," Obaa-san said.

A woman and a man came into the house and bowed quickly as they took off their shoes.

"Hi Obaa-san, how are you feeling?" The woman asked as she walked over to the room and saw myself and Hinamori.

I didn't turn to look—I was still crouched down next to Obaa-san, looking at my Hollow detector.

"Oh, Obaa-san has guests; sorry for just walking in! I'm Elena, and this is Kenji," she bowed slightly.

"Hello, I'm Hinamori, and this is Toushirou," Hinamori gestured.

"Nice to meet the both of you, we've been taking care of Obaa-san for a little while now, she's such a sweetheart!"

Why did those names sound so familiar?

I looked over and froze.

They were Azumi's parents.

Immediately I got up and approached them.

"Elena, Kenji, I'm Hitsugaya Toushirou—10th Squad Taichou of the Gotei 13. I've been looking for the two of you on behalf of Takashita Azumi, I'm glad we finally found the two of you," I explained.

"Takashita who?" Kenji asked.

I looked at him hard.

"Takashita Azumi—your daughter."

Elena took a few steps toward me.

"I'm sorry, but, we don't have a daughter. It's always just been the two of us." She explained.

It all came together in that instant.

When people didn't have a strong reiatsu when they were still alive, they had very limited memory of their previous lives.

"Our apologies, but we honestly don't know who that is." Kenji explained.

This was going to wreck Azumi.

"Don't apologize; if you don't know someone, it isn't your fault." I responded.

"We've only been here in the Soul Society for a short amount of time; the only thing that we both remember are our names. Since we both woke up here next to each other, we decided to stick together for the time being." Elena smiled and put a hand on Kenji's shoulder.

"I see," I replied.

"And are you living nearby?" I asked.

"Yes, just around the corner. We have the house with the red curtain in the window; please feel free to stop by anytime." Elena smiled.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Well, since Obaa-san has been taken care of today, we'll be on our way. See you tomorrow, Obaa-san!" Elena said with a wave.

Obaa-san waved back, and then they both left. After a few more minutes passed, we decided to leave as well.

As we walked back through the marketplace, the sun began to set and all the shops started to close. When we were almost to the Seireitei walls, I'd noticed that Hinamori hadn't said a word.

"Everything okay, Hinamori?" I asked.

"Yes, everything's fine." She answered.

"I don't believe you." I replied.

She stayed silent at my rebuttal, and so I figured that I should just let it go.

We reached the gate, and the guard opened it for us. We crossed into the Seireitei and started heading back toward Hinamori's house.

"Toushirou," Hinamori called.

"Yes?" I replied.

"You really do have feelings for Takashita-san, don't you?" She asked.

I couldn't say I was surprised; ever since Azumi's parents showed up, Hinamori's demeanor completely dropped. Even though I felt the question coming on, I can't fully say that I was unfazed.

I looked over at her to see her face looking down at the ground. Before I could even answer, she continued.

"I'm kind of jealous to be honest. In the back of my mind, I always thought that you liked _me_ in that way. It almost seems bizarre that I'm feeling this way." She stated.

I honestly didn't know what to say or how to even react with that 'little' added detail.

"I've always had feelings for Aizen, but at the same time—in the back of my mind—you were always there for me. I unknowingly started having feelings for you as well—more than just a sibling-love. I realized this recently, and have finally come to terms with it." She stopped and looked directly at me.

"Toushirou, I need to know; how do you feel toward Takashita-san?" She grabbed my sleeve lightly.

Since when did Hinamori—of all people—like me in that way? And now of all times? Was this a dream, or reality?

I didn't feel that way for Hinamori—or at least I didn't know I did. With everything that's happened, I wasn't sure about it. Azumi gave me feelings I didn't recognize as being anything other than affection, while Hinamori gave me feelings I always thought were sibling related. But now that she's said this; _did_ I have feelings of affection for her?

"She's just a friend, that's all." I answered.

"I see," she exhaled in relief.

"Hinamori, although I'm flattered that you feel that way toward me, unfortunately now isn't the time for those type of feelings. I'm sorry that this wasn't the answer you were looking for." I said, taking my arm back.

"Oh, I see," she said, taking her hand back.

"Maybe when all of this is over, maybe you could reconsider," she prompted as she started walking.

I didn't say a word.

I couldn't say anything else without hurting her feelings. On top of that, I felt awkward about the entire thing. I literally had no idea this was how Hinamori felt about me.

We arrived at her house, and she wrapped me into a hug.

"Thanks for visiting Obaa-san with me, Toushirou." She smiled once she let go of me.

"You're welcome; thank you for inviting me." I replied.

"Of course! Well, I guess I'll see you around, Toushirou," she placed a hand on my shoulder briefly, and then smiled and walked into her house.

What was I supposed to do now?

This was something that no doubt will cause awkwardness between the two of us. And now, what about Azumi? What would she do if she found out? Although she did say that she _wanted_ to get the two of us together—which was confusing in itself. Why did she say that? Didn't she have feelings for me? Why in the world would she want to set me up with Hinamori if she had feelings for me?

I arrived at the barracks, and picked Azumi up from Matsumoto's home. Once we got back to my home, I walked straight into the kitchen to make some tea while Azumi leaned against the counter to talk to me.

"Soooo, how was your Obaa-san? Is she doing okay?" She asked, as I took down a tea cup.

I stared at her for a moment, and then remembered about her parents.

"She's okay; we ended up making her some soup, and she seemed to do a little better." I told her as I poured myself a cup.

"Well that's great! I'm happy to hear that! I bet she was so happy just because you guys showed up!" She replied.

"Azumi, I have some news for you," I began.

"Oh? What happened?" She asked.

"This may be a little hard for you to hear right now; maybe you should sit down." I walked over to the couch, and sat down with my tea.

She gave me a guarded, cautious look, and then walked over to sit next to me. She looked at me anxiously, and I took a deep breath.

"I found your parents today," I began.

Her expression changed into excitement, but before she could say anything, I promptly cut her off.

"However…they unfortunately don't remember you."

She looked down at her lap, all excitement now gone, and a look of sorrow spread across her face.

"Thank you, for letting me know right away rather than keeping it from me." She said, clenching her hands on her pants.

Anyone could tell that her smile was forced, but she tried her best to keep her emotions in line.

"I really appreciate it, Toushirou. It's probably best that they don't remember me anyway; safer for them really." I could hear her voice cracking as she spoke, and I already knew she was fighting off tears.

"Even if it's better for them, it's still painful," I said, as I took a quick sip of my tea and set it down.

"It's okay to be upset, Azumi—it's only natural." I said.

Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around me and started sobbing. Without even a single thought passing through my mind, I instantly placed one hand around her torso and the other behind her head.

"I'm so sorry, Toushirou," she said in between breaths.

"It's okay, don't be sorry." I replied to her.

It was strange—this feeling I was experiencing.

Hinamori hugged me earlier, and I didn't feel anywhere near the way I felt right at this moment.

Was what I felt earlier with Hinamori just a temporary feeling because of the situation?

One thing was for certain; this was a fine mess I'd gotten myself into.


	28. Chapter 28

**Takashita Azumi**

Toushirou had been acting really weird lately.

Ever since he went to visit his Obaa-san in the Rukongai with Hinamori, he just hasn't been the same. Like something was on his mind—but I couldn't figure out what.

I wanted to pry; but I felt like I already did enough of that to the point that it might just be offensive. So I kept to myself, and hoped that maybe with a little time he'd come right out and tell me.

Hinamori stopped by the other day and apologized to me. I was shocked to say the least, but I accepted the apology and decided to continue on like nothing happened—even though what happened definitely did bother me. But Hell, we all make mistakes; it's better to let bygones be bygones. Especially in this case because she happens to be a very important person to Toushirou.

Which brings me to my next point.

Hinamori was stopping by a lot lately since their visit with their Obaa-san. I feel like her visits are what's on Toushirou's mind and why he's acting so strangely. Could it be that he really does have a thing for Hinamori? And now that the situation between her and I are good, he's thinking about her? Any female could tell that she's being overly-nice to him—which translates to: she wants him.

But, wasn't this girl obsessed with Aizen? What made Toushirou so attractive to her _now_ rather than before? Was it because she felt like he was the only option since Aizen turned out to be a psychopath? The world may never know.

The only thing I did know, was that Toushirou was uncomfortable. Which was weird because I was under the impression he liked Hinamori in that way. As much as it hurt me, I wanted him to be happy with her, but what was this weird emotion of his?

Anyhow.

My training went on like normal; Soi Fon was really tough on me, but that was for the best. I wanted to be tough, and not an easy target to take down. Toushirou didn't approve most of the time—especially when Soi Fon tried to kill me with Suzumebachi—but it was a great way to learn! Either get strong or die. A little harsh, but hey, I wasn't about to just give up like some little kid.

I ended up becoming super jealous of Soi Fon's sleeveless undershirt, so Rangiku helped me get one and I wore a dark purple shirt underneath it since it was a little revealing. I couldn't understand how all the others did anything with those super baggy sleeves, or how they didn't get hot. I was constantly steaming with the shirt on. But, luckily now I was finally comfortable and the outfit was acceptable.

On another note, I decided that I didn't want to go see my parents.

One, it would be too painful, and two, I can't just waltz up and say 'hey I'm your adopted daughter from when you were alive; give me all your love and affection!'—that'd just be weird. And three, the main reason I wanted to find them was to make sure that they made it here instead of being eaten by a Hollow. As long as they were okay, I decided that I was okay.

Although it completely ripped my heart to shreds, I would have to stay away for their sakes. Aizen could try to kill them again to get at me, and I wasn't about to let that happen. I cried about it for a while, but thanks to Toushirou, I was able to overcome it quickly.

Today was just like any other day that I spent here in the Soul Society; paperwork, eating, training, and sleeping—wash, rinse, repeat. Which honestly was fine with me because of all my friends I got to see. They made me feel so welcomed and like I was apart of something spectacular—like I was a valued member of the team. Okay, maybe I took it a little too far with those words, but basically, to me, they made life worth living.

We just finished up training early for the day, and Soi Fon left me with Rangiku. We walked out of the training grounds and back toward our homes, chatting along the way.

"Azumi-chan, why can't you be older? I mean, you can always drink with me, but do you know how much fun it would be to go to a bar together? We'd have a blast! And I'm sure you're hilarious when you're drunk—I just know it!" Rangiku pouted; I laughed.

"Well, I promise that I'll have my very first drink with you. You just have to wait about five, err-four more years. Sound good?" I smiled.

Rangiku looked at me strangely and stopped with her next step.

"Azumi-chan, why did you stutter when it came to how many years I have to wait?" She asked, cocking an eye at me.

"Because I forgot that I recently turned 17." I smiled sheepishly.

Rangiku grabbed my shoulders furiously.

"What? When? Why didn't you say anything?" She practically shouted while shaking me.

I laughed and started getting dizzy.

"I forgot, plus it isn't really that important anyway! Sheesh!"

"What day was it? Don't you lie to me Azumi-chan!" Rangiku shook me more.

"It was June 6th! I'm sorry!" I chuckled.

"You mean to tell me we were still in the World of the Living and you didn't say anything? I'm going to strangle you."

"You already practically are!" I laughed more.

"That is it. I'm waiting with you until the Taichou comes home and we're having a discussion." She huffed, arms crossed.

"Okay there Mom," I poked her stomach.

"This isn't funny; I can't believe we forgot about your birthday! We're terrible friends!" She whined.

We got to the front door and I inserted the key into the deadbolt.

"Oh stop, you and Toushirou aren't terrible friends,"

I opened the door and took a step in, Rangiku following suit.

"You guys have just been—"

I looked over into the living room to see Hinamori planting a kiss on Toushirou.

I stood there, frozen.

"... _busy_." I finished.

Hinamori snapped back in embarrassment, and looked away.

"Azumi, Matsumoto—" Toushirou started before I interrupted.

"Oh man, sorry to interrupt, you two! I'll just grab something real quick and be on my way; Rangiku, please hang on a sec!" I blurted out quickly.

Before anyone could say anything, I was already almost to my room.

I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and my music player and then walked back over to the front door.

Toushirou was standing there next to Rangiku, staring at me. I made sure not to make eye contact.

"Well, the house is all yours Hitsugaya-Taichou, I'll be staying over at Rangiku's. Have a great night you two!"

I forced a grin, grabbed Rangiku—who was also speechless—and shut the door behind us.

Toushirou didn't say a word.

I walked ahead of Rangiku to the front door of her house and when she opened it, I immediately set my stuff down on the ground and turned to her.

"So about that Sake," I looked at her dead in the eye.

She walked over to the cupboard and took out said Sake.

"You know what, invite all our friends over. Let's drink in celebration of my birthday!" I said, grabbing the Sake and taking a big swig of it.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

How in the Hell did I get myself into this situation?

Ever since Hinamori confessed how she felt toward me, she's been coming around more often; the whole situation seemed to happen so quickly. The only thing I wasn't counting on was for her to do something like that.

And the fact that Azumi saw what happened…just kill me.

It started off with Hinamori just wanting to come over. Since today's Friday, she pressured me into leaving work early so that we could go out. I objected; but she ended up getting the better of me and convinced me to leave, so we both left.

She said something about wanting to see some fireflies along the riverbed at sunset, and since she didn't want to go by herself, she asked me to go with her. Although I didn't want to, I felt bad for Hinamori with everything she's been through, so I decided to go with her.

We stopped by the house first so that I could change and at the very least send word to Azumi and Matsumoto that I would be busy tonight, but I didn't even get to do that.

As soon as we got to my house, Hinamori said she wanted to sit down for a bit because she was tired. So I went and changed, and then when I asked her when she wanted to go, she asked for me to sit down with her.

"Shirou-chan," she said as soon as I sat down.

"Yes?" I responded.

"You haven't given thought to what I said, have you?" She asked.

I already knew what she was talking about. I didn't want to get into that particular conversation, but she was giving me no choice.

"Hinamori, I already told you—now isn't the time for feelings like—"

"Then when is the time, Shirou-chan? When would be a good time for you? Because for me, the time is now; I've waited long enough. Can't I for once be loved in return?" She interrupted.

Since when did she turn into such a lovesick puppy? It was embarrassing.

"Hinamori, its not about a good time for me; it's because of all the chaos that might fall upon the Soul Society because of Aizen that makes it 'not a good time.' On top of that, I don't even know if I have those types of feelings for you, I wouldn't commit to anything unless I was certain; you know that better than anyone." I explained.

"Shirou—"

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, Hinamori. Everything has its time, and you will have yours one day. You just need to be patient." I tried to soothe.

"How do you not know how you feel toward me, Shirou-chan? What are you confused about?" She asked.

I just stared at her.

The first thing that popped into my mind was Azumi—that was already confusing enough as it was.

I looked away for a moment, staring at the wooden floor beneath us.

"I think," she started to say.

Hinamori scooted closer.

"You don't know unless you try." She finished.

Hinamori lightly turned my face, and pressed her lips against mine.

Needless to say, I froze.

I'd never kissed anyone before. This was by far one of the strangest things that had ever happened to me.

Before I could do anything—or even react—Azumi and Matsumoto stepped into the house and Hinamori immediately backed away.

I felt so unbelievably guilty.

Azumi's facial expression…

I tried to call out to her, but she immediately cut me off and went into her room. I walked over to Matsumoto—who didn't say a word—and watched as Azumi grabbed her and left.

I felt absolutely terrible—so terrible that I started getting angry.

Hinamori got up and walked cautiously over to me.

"Shirou-chan, I-I'm—"

"Leaving." I finished for her.

I opened the front door and stared coldly at her.

She looked devastated—like she wasn't expecting me to be angry at all.

She didn't say anything; just walked right past me out the door.

I walked back over to the couch and sat down, massaging my temples.

What the Hell was I supposed to do now?

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

A couple of hours went by, and I was completely drunk off my ass.

I'd never really drank before, but at the moment it was fun and exciting and eased the pain in my heart from earlier.

We didn't end up throwing a party, but Renji, Ikkaku and my new friends Hisagi and Izuru came over to drink with us. All in all, we were having a great time—although I could already tell that I would regret this decision entirely in the morning.

At one point, someone brought up Toushirou, and it was at that point that I had to walk outside. Not only did I feel nauseous from all the alcohol, but I felt nauseous about the display I saw earlier. It was the whole reason I decided to get drunk in the first place.

I sat out on the porch in the backyard. The moon was covered by clouds tonight, but there were definitely stars still peeking around.

After what felt like hours, Rangiku came outside to check up on me. Her sentences were definitely more coherent than mine were.

"There you are, Azumi-chan! Are you okay? Are you gonna throw up? What's wrong?" She asked.

I hadn't noticed, but evidently I was crying.

I leaned on Rangiku and kept crying.

"I'm so hurt, Rangiku!" I choked out rather loudly.

"All I want is for him to be happy, but why does it hurt so much?" I whimpered and stifled a burp.

"Azumi-chan," Rangiku put a hand on my head.

"I mean, it was bound to h-happen, I mean, who would ever love a monster like me anyway?"

"Stop it, Azumi-chan! I will not sit here and let you put yourself down like that!" She lifted me off her and looked me dead in the eye.

"So what if the Taichou likes Hinamori; he isn't the only guy out there! Trust me, this isn't the end like you think it is. However, it's okay to be hurt—you were in love, and now you're experiencing heartbreak. It's normal to grieve! I've been there; I know what it's like! Just let it all out, I'm here for you!" Rangiku comforted.

"Damn that stupid Toushirou! Why'd I ever let myself fall for such a jerk!" I shouted in between gasping sobs.

"Shh! Azumi-chan! He lives next door, remember?" Rangiku said in a loud whisper.

"I don't care;" I hiccupped, "let him hear!" I said wiping my tears off my face.

Suddenly, Ikkaku and the others came outside.

"Takashita! When are you gonna fight me, damn it!" Ikkaku shouted at me.

"Ikkaku—" Rangiku started to say before I interrupted.

"I'm feeling pretty ripe right now Ikkaku; let's do it! Right here and now! Fist fight me! Mano-y-mano!" I smirked getting up.

"Yes!" Ikkaku shouted excitedly.

"Azumi-chan, that isn't the best idea!" Rangiku tried to stop me.

"Nah nah nah, it's all good, this'll help me get rid of my anger!" I laughed and skipped over to the grass.

"Put up your dukes!" I grinned.

Ikkaku got on the grass, took his shirt off, and started skipping around.

"What the Hell are you—a fairy princess?" I laughed.

"Teme! This is my good luck dance! Bakayaro!" he shouted at me.

"Call it whatever ya want, Princess! Let's do this already!" I shouted back, putting up my fists in a defensive position.

"Renji! Count down!" Ikkaku smiled the insanely evil happy smiled of his.

"3, 2, 1, go!" Renji shouted.

"Ding-ding!" I shouted, then flash-stepped at him with a punch.

He blocked it and kicked me to the side near the house. I stumbled but caught myself; I smirked then burped.

"Round 2, fight!" I chuckled and sprang at him again.

This time I tripped him and kicked him toward the back wall at the other side of the yard as he fell. I flashed over there and he caught me mid-flash and punched me right in the stomach—hard might I add.

"You'll have to do better than that!" he said, giddy as ever.

"Ikkaku, knock it off before I beat the crap out of you!" Rangiku shouted, standing up.

"I'm fine, Mom! This is exactly what I need right now!" I shouted back, coughing.

"That's more I like it!" Ikkaku shouted.

He grabbed me and tried to head-butt me, and luckily I dodged before that and knee'd him in the gut. I took the opportunity to punch him, but he caught my fist and counted with his other one.

A couple seconds passed of us just trying to land blows on one another, and then both of us jumped back for a moment. While I was trying to catch my breath; he lunged at me with a kick, and I fell on the ground.

It was then and there, that I knew all of this was going to suck in the morning. But Hell, I was enjoying myself.

I coughed again, and spit to the side of me as Ikkaku hopped around.

"Come on, this isn't over yet! Get up, Takashita!" he shouted at me.

I laughed and got back on my feet. I dusted myself off and looked back up at him with a huge smirk on my face.

"Round three, fi—!"

As soon as I tried to flash-step, someone grabbed me by the back of my shirt.

"What the Hell are you two doing?" Toushirou shouted, in anger.

Instantly my anger came back.

"What's it look like, Hitsugaya-Taichou-Sama?" I sneered.

He did not like that at all.

"Are you drunk? Matsumoto, you let her drink?" Toushirou looked coldly at her.

Matsumoto shrugged and Toushirou exhaled loudly.

Now that I wasn't moving, the drunk spins set in. I was going to barf.

I swatted Toushirou's hand away, and hi-tailed it to the bushes.

I could hear Toushirou in the background giving everyone Hell. He was so pissed off, but then again, so was I. I was pissed off that things had to be this way; that I didn't stand a chance to get Toushirou's affection compared to Hinamori. I felt like everything was just a temporary happiness that could just be swept away at any time.

I heard someone coming over toward me, so I finished up with the nasty and wiped my mouth off.

"Azumi, let's go." Toushirou said to me.

"I don't want to; I'm staying with Rangiku." I replied without making eye contact.

"No, you're not staying here; you need to rest." Toushirou countered.

"Well I don't want to—"

"That's an order, Takashita." Toushirou said, his Taichou authority soaked in his tone.

I clenched my fists.

I had no choice but to listen to him since I was under his 'supervision.'

"Fine." I huffed.

I could hear Toushirou turn around, so I turned around as well.

If this wasn't embarrassing, I don't know what is. I looked like a kid that just got grounded in front of everyone.

Everyone dispersed except Ikkaku and Rangiku.

"Oi! Takashita! Let's fight for real when we're sober! I wanna see just how tough you think you are in that mask!" Ikkaku hollered.

"You got it! I owe you a jab to the mouth!" I snickered and air punched toward him.

"Get inside, Ikkaku!" Rangiku shushed him in.

She looked at me apologetically, and then followed him inside.

Toushirou didn't say a word as we walked up to his back porch. He opened the door and waited for me to go in; I felt like a convict being escorted to a court room. I chuckled at the thought even though I was still pissed off.

We walked through the kitchen and I looked angrily at the couch; the scene from earlier on replay.

"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up," Toushirou said, walking up to me.

I grumbled and stomped toward the bathroom. I brushed my teeth while Toushirou was in the kitchen. As I finished, he walked in with a glass of water and some medicine.

"Here, take this. It will help with the hangover you're going to have tomorrow." He held them out for me to grab.

I took them in a pouting fashion and swallowed them down. I wiped my mouth, and pushed past Toushirou to walk toward the guest room.

I shut the door behind me, with Toushirou on the outside and started changing into more comfortable clothes.

"Takashita, what are you—"

"I'm changing, Hitsugaya-Taichou-Sama." I cut him off.

I could tell just from the aura seeping through the cracks of the door that he was pissed.

I turned the light off and then got into the bed. He heard me getting onto the mattress and opened the door and turned the light back on.

He didn't say anything and neither did I for a few moments. I could tell he was staring at the back of my head though. He walked over to the bed and placed something on the floor next to me and also something on the desk. He stood there by the desk silently for what seemed like forever. I shifted under the covers from the uncomfortable-ness, and he took the opportunity to speak.

"Why are you pissed off, Takashita?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same question, Hitsugaya-Taichou-Sama." I snapped back.

He exhaled loudly, and I could tell he was massaging between his eyes.

"Fine. I'll tell you why I'm pissed off if you in return tell me. Deal?" He asked.

I grumbled and he took that as a yes.

"I'm pissed off because Matsumoto and the others let you get drink—which is something we both know you've never done— _and_ let you get into a fight. What kind of supervision is that? You could've gotten hurt. And one thing leads to another, and then it turns into a weapon fight. That's why I'm pissed off." He explained.

I sat up and looked harshly at him.

"It wasn't them; _I_ _wanted_ to drink, and _I_ _wanted_ to fight. You're acting like they forced the Sake down my throat or something. There's no one to blame other than me. Keep the others out of it." I replied and then laid back down.

"And why did you want to do those things? What reason could you possibly have to get drunk and get into a fist-fight?" Toushirou countered back at me.

"A lot of reasons, thank you very much!" I sat up and glared.

"You have no idea just what it's like to feel like a fucking monster all the time! You have no idea just how pissed off I am about this whole situation; how no matter what I do, everything I have is just a fleeting sensation. Everyone will leave me. No one cares about stupid monsters; monsters are to be slaughtered. No one will ever be able to accept me fully because of what I am. Hell, I won't ever be able to have a significant other without there being an issue. You wanna tell me just how that's fair? That my efforts and love and compassion can never be returned by someone? How fucked up is that?" I slammed myself back down and crawled underneath the covers.

I didn't know I was angrily crying as I spoke to him. It only became apparent when my head hit the pillow and my tears slid over the side of my face.

"Where's Hinamori at? I left the house that way you guys had it all to yourselves. You should go find her and be happy since you're able to. Don't take everything you have for granted." I mumbled from underneath the covers.

I heard rapid footsteps and then the covers were yanked off me.

"What's the big idea?" I snapped at him, sitting up.

He swiftly sat down next to me and wrapped me in a hug; holding me tightly to his chest.

"What are you—" I struggled to try and escape, to no avail.

"You're such a baka, Azumi." He started.

Before I could interrupt he continued.

"Everything isn't a fleeting sensation; everyone cares about you, regardless of what you are. We're all always going to be here for you; especially me. Don't you ever forget that." He held me tighter.

"As far as having a significant other, however, I know for a fact there's someone for you." He said lowly.

I couldn't help but let myself open up at his statement. My anger dissipated—my sadness the only thing on display.

"Don't lie to me." I whimpered.

"I'm not lying." He said.

I pushed him back and looked him dead in the eye.

"Who then, Toushirou? Who in their right mind—knowing all the facts—could possibly have feelings for me?" I asked.

He looked at me for what seemed like a long time; staring directly into my brown orbs.

"I can't tell you right now." He said, looking away.

"You wouldn't believe me, and now isn't the time."

I looked down, completely hurt.

In that instant, I had let myself believe that maybe it just might be Toushirou himself, but now it just added to my despair.

I laid back down, and covered myself.

"Turn off the lights on your way out." I said.

He didn't move for several minutes, and then reluctantly, he turned off the lights and left the room.


	29. Chapter 29

I was so incredibly right. The next morning absolutely sucked.

I now knew the true meaning of the word 'hangover,' and completely regretted challenging Ikkaku to a fist fight.

Toushirou sent Rangiku to get some of his paperwork from the office so he could do it at home; I was so sick that I had to stay home and recuperate. I laid in bed and thought about everything that happened last night. I was such a fool; I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me like that. I shouldn't have been angry at all; more like thankful if anything.

The one thing that stuck out to me, however, was one of the last things Toushirou said to me before I dismissed him.

He knew for a fact that someone loved me, yet he couldn't tell me?

What kind of bullshit was that?

That look on his face when he told me that—it was like _he_ was the hurt one. But, what the Hell did he have to be hurt about? He had Hinamori now; if anything, he should be happy without even an ounce of sadness.

I bet she tried to stop by the office today; the thought of her made me angry. And then the fact that I was angry at someone else's happiness pissed me off even more.

I tried getting over it as the day passed, but to no avail. I was such a whirlpool of emotions that it really felt like anything would set me off.

Toushirou knocked on my door around lunch time saying he had food. I walked out and we both sat at the table in silence as we ate. When we both finished eating, I thanked him for the meal, and picked up the table.

"Azumi, as a reminder, we're going to the World of the Living tonight so you can feed." Toushirou said.

"Got it." I replied, while wiping down the table.

"It will just be the two of us tonight by the way. Matsumoto has a meeting with the lower ranked Squad members tonight and will most likely be out late. I have to run a quick errand as well, so I'll be leaving you by yourself with Matsumoto next door for an hour tops." He explained.

"Okay, sounds good." I replied.

A few moments passed, and then he spoke up again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like shit." I chuckled, rinsing the rag out at the sink.

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"Nothing in particularly. I just have to wait it out." I shrugged.

"I see." He replied.

I finished up with the cleaning, and walked over to the table.

"Thanks again for lunch, have a good rest of your day at work. See ya later." I said.

I walked back to my room and shut the door. He didn't say anything and didn't come after me—just sat there and watched me walk away. After a few minutes, I heard the front door open and shut. I huffed in annoyance and then decided that now was a good time for a nap.

Several hours passed. I wasn't sure when Toushirou came home since I was asleep, but around 7 p.m. he immediately wanted to get things over with.

I got dressed—since I was in my pajamas all day—and then l left with him toward the gate to the World of the Living.

We didn't really talk on the way. He asked how I was feeling again, and I responded in the same way I did earlier. However, as we closed in on the gate, Toushirou did speak up.

"Azumi, listen. I want to talk to you when we get back about last night; I feel like there are a lot of things that were misunderstood, and I want to clear everything up." He said.

As I was about to respond, we turned the last corner before the gate, and I immediately became angry.

Hinamori was standing in front of the gate.

I tried my hardest not to look angry, but the very sight of her pissed me off—even though it shouldn't.

"Save it," I said lowly so that only Toushirou could hear.

Hinamori waved at us—smiling, like nothing was wrong might I add—and then greeted us when we approached.

"Hi Takashita-san, Hitsugaya-Taichou, how are you guys?" She asked in a merry tone.

I almost rolled my eyes, but was able to control myself.

"I'm all right; thanks for asking. How about yourself? Did you have a good day today?" I forced a smile.

Toushirou of course knew I was faking it, but Hinamori was convinced.

"I'm glad you're doing well! I've had a good day so far; I'm really excited to go to the World of the Living with you two!" She grinned.

I almost lost my shit. It wasn't enough just to come see us off—she had to go with us too?

Great. Just peachy.

"You're coming with us?" Toushirou asked.

"You didn't get the message? Since Rangiku-san had a meeting tonight and could not attend, the Soutaichou sent me in her place. He wants there to always be two people with Takashita-san when she goes to the World of the Living—for precaution." She giggled.

Someone just shoot me now.

"No, I didn't get the message," Toushirou replied.

"Oh, well, I hope it isn't a problem," she said, her happy demeanor wavering a little.

"Of course it isn't, Hinamori-Fukutaichou, the more the merrier!" I forced myself to say.

"Oh good!" She clapped.

She then turned around to the guard.

"We're ready, open up the gate please!" She requested.

The guard complied and opened the gate. I walked in first, with Toushirou and Hinamori behind me; only within holding-hand distance away from each other. Eeeeek.

We crossed over and stepped out onto a rooftop this time. The normal routine was to go to my house and wait for Hollows to pop up on Toushirou's detector, so I started heading that way.

I was ahead of the two of them, not really caring to hear any of their conversations if they were having any.

Toushirou shouted at me to stop, and so we landed on a rooftop.

He took out his beeping phone and pushed a couple buttons.

"It looks like there's one Hollow less than a mile away." He stated.

"Which direction?" I asked.

He pointed to his right, and without another moment's hesitation, I called out Yoru no Shedo.

"Gaze into the soul, Yoru no Shedo," I whispered.

Immediately, she covered my face with her mask and appeared on my hands in tonfa form.

Hinamori looked at me, and I looked right back. Her face was frozen—like she didn't quite know how to react.

"Am I scaring you?" I asked, happier than Hell that my voice sounded menacing.

She shook her head, and stammered.

"N-No! N-Not at all! I just haven't seen you in this form before is all," she smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I won't hide under your bed or anything," I chuckled.

"Takashita," Toushirou started.

I cut him off before he could say anything else.

"Let's get this over with." I said, cracking my neck.

I took off in the direction he pointed without any notice.

I could hear them catching up to me, but luckily when I was in my Hollow form—or wearing Yoru's mask—my speed increased ten-fold. I could easily outrun them if I really wanted to. I snickered at the thought.

I looked down below, and finally spotted the Hollow; it was by an abandoned warehouse.

I jumped down below, right in front of the thing, and it turned it's head to look at me. This one kind of resembled a horse, which I thought was weird. It screeched and charged at me—I dodged and slashed it's side as it passed—it screamed in pain, and shivered.

I could feel my bloodlust starting to take over. The mask over my face started changing form; into my true Hollow mask. I put my hands against my face, the pain of the mask molding to my face ever-present.

"Takashita!" Toushirou shouted my name.

My head snapped up to see the Hollow charging for me again.

I countered it by springing at it; my speed and force much greater than its. I tackled it onto the ground, and ripped my mouth open. I took a huge bite out of the Hollow, savoring the taste as I sucked out it's blood and soul.

I could hear Imuza in the background, trying to gain control, but I was so pissed off at everything that my anger helped spike my willpower to keep her at bay.

The Hollow let out one last whimper before it turned to dust and blew away with the wind. I stood upright, and wiped my face with my hand. I stared at the Hollow blood all over it, and couldn't help licking it up. When I was finished, I looked over at where Toushirou and Hinamori were standing.

They were both staring at me.

Toushirou with his normal expression; Hinamori with a look that said 'I-just-saw-something-creepy-as-Hell' spread across her face.

"I need another one," I said.

Hinamori cringed at my sudden words, and Toushirou wasn't even fazed.

"There's another one fairly close; no doubt attracted by your reiatsu. Follow me." He said.

I nodded and he took off, Hinamori close behind him. We didn't have to flash step for long; the Hollow was literally just a few blocks away.

I pinned it to the ground without even wounding it, and started feasting again. Once the Hollow was gone, I stood there and looked up at the sky. I could feel my Hollow mask changing again, but it was fairly slowly.

Hinamori chatted with Toushirou, asking questions about me as if I wasn't there to answer them myself or hear for that matter. Toushirou started telling her the story of how I found out about this whole ordeal and I just stood there, looking up at the stars as my mask changed back to Yoru's design.

As soon as it did, I told Yoru to revert back to her dormant state, and she did. I looked over at Toushirou and Hinamori then walked over.

"Did you enjoy the freak show?" I grinned as I walked up to Hinamori.

She giggled and replied.

"It wasn't like that at all; you're too funny, Takashita-san! I'm just glad that I got to see it with my own eyes rather than hearing other people's descriptions." She smiled; I chuckled.

"Good deal." I replied, dusting myself off.

"Are we ready to go back?" I asked Toushirou.

"Let me get them to open up the gate." He replied, taking out his cell phone.

As he called the Soul Society for clearance, Hinamori asked me what all the lights she saw on the way here were. I explained that it was a Carnival—the same one we previously went to—and what they have there.

She seemed to get really excited about it, and then Toushirou snapping his phone shut snapped us out of our conversation.

"They're having trouble opening the gate back up. They've asked us to wait until further notice." Toushirou told us.

"Well then, we should go to the Carnival Takashita-san mentioned!" Hinamori gleamed.

I couldn't help but snicker.

"Yeah Toushirou, you should take your gal someplace romantic," I elbowed him.

Hinamori blushed, and I couldn't quite make out the look on Toushirou's face.

"No, we should wait at your house," Toushirou countered.

"Oh, come on, live a little!" I retorted, sarcasm thick in my tone.

I smirked and then flash-stepped away toward the carnival.

Toushirou and Hinamori followed close behind, and I stopped on the outside of carnival.

"Takashita," Toushirou started, only to be interrupted by Hinamori.

"Oh my goodness, look at that!" She pointed to the Ferris wheel.

I leaned back against a light pole, trying to stifle myself, when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. My head snapped to see a black haired boy towering over me.

"Kawaii-chan!" Hideki said surprised.

He wrapped me up in a hug and squeezed me tightly. I looked over at Toushirou—who seemed to be steaming—and then Hideki pushed me back by my shoulders and looked at my face.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you at school in weeks! I went over to your house to check on you, but no one was there! What happened? Are you okay? Where did you get those clothes?" He asked.

I chuckled.

I didn't mean to, but I did.

"I, uh, had some urgent family matters to tend to, so I had to go to the U.S. last second. Sorry to have worried you," I smiled sheepishly.

"It's okay, Kawaii-chan; I forgive you. I'm just glad you're okay!" he said, exhaling in relief.

"So, what are you doing here? Where's your significant other?" Hideki asked.

It was then I realized that he couldn't see Toushirou or Hinamori because they weren't in their gigais. I heard Hinamori whispering to Toushirou something about a boyfriend, and I tried hard not to break character.

"Significant other? Who do you mean?" I asked.

"Why, Hitsugaya-kun of course. I'm shocked he isn't here with you on this lovely evening." He smiled lightly.

I looked directly at Toushirou as I answered. "He isn't my boyfriend; he's just a friend."

I shouldn't have done it, and I immediately regretted it after the words left my lips, but it was the truth. Toushirou wasn't my boyfriend, and never would be. He's got Hinamori, and I'm a freak-show—that's just how the story goes.

"Oh, could've fooled me!" Hideki smiled.

"Care to walk around for a little while with me?" He asked, outstretching his arm.

"I'd love to." I responded, looping my arm through his.

I gave Toushirou one last look, and then turned with Hideki into the festival.

I felt bad, but at the same time I didn't. Toushirou was probably lying about there being someone for me just to make me feel better, even though it made me feel worse.

I figured that I should at least enjoy someone's affection just this once. If I was going to have to live in the Soul Society, everyone would know about me and I wouldn't ever be able to experience what it felt like to be admired and loved.

On top of that, it's not like Hideki has ever done anything wrong. Yeah, it was annoying how he lacked the concept of personal space, but he's always been super nice to me. Toushirou just didn't like him, and I just didn't know how to react to him.

"Takashita," Toushirou called from behind us.

I could tell he was pissed. I stopped and turned around to look at him, Hideki turning as well.

"Something wrong?" Hideki asked, looking in the same direction I was.

Toushirou gave me a really cold look. I pursed my lips a little bit, and then looked up at Hideki.

"Nope, just thought I heard something." I responded.

I heard Toushirou mumbling something and then Hinamori whispered something in his ear.

"I see." Hideki said.

We walked around for a little while, taking in the sights and what-not. The Carnival at night was all lit up and looked spectacular. After we walked the whole thing, we started coming up toward the center of the Carnival.

"Hey, wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Hideki asked.

"Sure." I replied.

We walked over to the Ferris wheel and waited in line; Toushirou and Hinamori stood off to the side. Hideki started talking about what I've missed in school, and what's been going on lately. He seemed particularly interested on where I've been, and what happened.

I made up everything on the fly, saying my grandma had a terrible disease and we went out there for her final days. I told him I wouldn't be back at school for a while because I'm still dealing with the loss, and he put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry that happened to you and your family; if you or your family need anything, please let me know. I'm here to help." He said.

"I appreciate it," I smiled.

He smiled that crooked smile of his, and I realized just how handsome Hideki really was. I mean, I knew about it before, but now studying his features at this close of a proximity, he really was dazzling.

I frowned. What the Hell was I doing?

"What's wrong, Kawaii-chan?" Hideki asked.

I looked up at him, and before I could answer, the wait was over, and we walked onto the Ferris wheel.

The Ferris wheel started moving, and I held onto the rail in front of me as we ascended. I looked down to see Toushirou staring up at me and Hinamori trying to get his attention about something. He didn't look at her, he just kept staring at me.

After we went around for a few times, we stopped almost at the very top of the Ferris wheel and took in the view of the town. I leaned back, and exhaled loudly as I stared at the lit up buildings in the distance.

"Kawaii-chan, are you okay?" Hideki asked.

I grit my teeth. I was probably going to regret this, but I decided to ask anyway.

"Hideki, why do you like me?" I asked.

I didn't make any eye contact; I stared straight ahead of me. He chuckled and then replied.

"Because you're different, Kawaii-chan. You're beautiful; I can tell that you genuinely care about others although they may not care about you. You're smart, funny, and tough. I really like your personality. You're not like any other girl I've ever met." He smiled.

I couldn't help but blush—it was really nice hearing someone say that about me.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me." I said shyly.

"Of course, I'm glad that I could put a smile on your face. I love seeing you smile; it really lights up your features along with my day." Hideki smiled and put his hand over mine.

I blushed again.

He chuckled at my response.

"You're too cute." He said.

The Ferris wheel started up again, and we went around a few more times then the staff helped us step off the ride, and Hideki looped his arm through mine and walked off with me.

"How long do you plan on staying here at the carnival?" Hideki asked.

"Not too much longer, I'll be going home soon." I told him.

I couldn't keep this up for too much longer. Toushirou was probably livid about the whole situation, and I'm sure that the gate would be back up soon.

We walked back out in front of the Ferris wheel. Toushirou and Hinamori were standing by one of the booths; Hinamori was pointing at one of the stuffed animals, and Toushirou had his arms crossed next to her.

Toushirou walked up to me, eyes almost blank.

"Takashita, we're leaving, _now_. The gate is ready." He said.

It sounded so forced. I would probably be in for it later, but I didn't care. If he could flaunt Hinamori in front of me, then why couldn't I flaunt Hideki?

I nodded briefly and then unhooked myself from Hideki.

"Actually, Hideki, I should probably get going. Thanks for taking me on the Ferris wheel." I bowed lightly.

"Not a problem at all!" he said.

He put a hand behind my waist and pulled me up in a hug. I blushed as he gripped me tighter.

"Thanks for giving me a chance to hang out with you; I really appreciate it. Hopefully we can do so more often," he chuckled.

"Y-Yeah, no problem." I smiled and pushed myself back.

"See ya around!" I said, then ran off toward the entrance before he could say anything else.

I waited for Toushirou and Hinamori at the front, and it didn't take them too long to show up.

"They're opening the gate near your house, let's go." Toushirou said.

We flash-stepped to my house and then Toushirou took out his phone immediately. The portal appeared, and then we went back through it to the Soul Society.

Hinamori bid us a farewell, and I started walking with Toushirou back to the house.

The whole walk was silent. He didn't make any eye contact with me at all—I suddenly felt terrible about the whole thing. Toushirou opened up the door and turned on the lights. He walked right past me and went to his room.

I sat down at the table, leaning on my elbows. After a few minutes, Toushirou came back out and walked right past me into the kitchen. He started making some tea, and stood near the kitchen window, looking outside.

A few more minutes passed by, and I decided to get up.

"Well, I'm going to sleep; night, Hitsugaya-Taichou."

"Sit down, Azumi." Toushirou said.

I froze for a moment, and then sat back down.

"Weren't you the one trying to set me up with Hinamori?" He asked, turning around.

I nodded quickly, staring at my hands. He walked over to the table and set a hand on the table.

"With what happened with Hinamori, if anything you should be 'happy' right?" He asked.

I nodded again.

"If that's the case, then what in the Hell is wrong?" He asked.

I didn't say anything.

"The drinking, the fist fight, Hideki; why did you do all those things, Azumi?" Toushirou looked directly at me now.

The way he asked was so calm and level-headed sounding, but the words made me feel like underneath the tone was pain—that he was hurt by the things I've done.

He stood there still staring at me, waiting for my reply. As I was about to answer, the tea kettle started to whistle, and so Toushirou walked away to turn off the stove.

"Do you want any tea?" He asked.

"S-Sure." I responded.

He grabbed two tea cups from the cupboard, and brought them along with the kettle and tea over to the table. He poured the hot water into one of the cups and handed it to me, then poured one for himself.

"The truth is that it mainly plays out into what I said last night." I began.

"Everything I've said is how I've really felt—like there isn't a chance in the world for a monster like me. You said that you knew for a fact that someone liked me; I didn't believe you because you couldn't tell me then and there. So I took it as you just said that to comfort me—which made me feel worse about the whole situation. That's why I let Hideki in, because it felt nice to _pretend_ that I could be happy. Felt nice to feel wanted in that way."

I stopped to take a sip of tea. It was still boiling hot, and so I held it down on the table.

"And to be even more truthful," I paused and looked down at my hands around the cup.

I took a deep breath.

"I'm jealous of Hinamori."

I looked up at him; he was staring directly into my eyes. He was so focused—focused with an emotion I couldn't make out.

"I want you to be happy, and if she is the one that makes you happy, then so be it. But I can't help but be jealous of it, and…jealous of her."

I paused, and took a deep breath.

"I know I'm a pessimist, but I…"

I clenched my fists.

"Hoped that I-I would be the one to make you h-happy. Because I…I.."

I shouldn't do it.

It wasn't right.

Oh God what was I doing?

"Because I am _in love with you_ , Toushirou."

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

I said it. I just _freaking_ said it.

It felt like time just stopped; like an eternity of silence just went by.

I looked down, hands suddenly shaking.

I am such a moron.

Now things would change.

Now everything was going to turn to shit. I wouldn't get to see him, live with him, be near him—what a freaking fool!

I stood up, and turned on my heel toward my room. Tears were on their way, and I needed to leave before that happened.

"I'm sorry, Toushirou. If things have to change and I can't stay here anymore, I understand. Please, do what you have to as a Taichou." I said.

Toushirou grabbed my wrist.

My heart skipped a beat.

"For your information," Toushirou began.

"I made Hinamori leave when that happened last night. In fact, I'm still angry at her; the whole situation was completely uncalled for. However, it made me realize then and there that I don't consider Hinamori anything more than a sister and friend." He explained.

"O-Oh, I see." I stuttered out.

Now I felt like a complete asshole. Great.

"Azumi," he said my name.

I gulped in response.

"I didn't lie about what I said to you last night. There is someone for you—someone who loves you." He said.

I didn't turn around—my eyes were getting watery.

"Yeah, Hideki, who _doesn't know the truth,_ I know." I clenched my hands into fists.

"No, not him." Toushirou said.

He walked up toward me, not letting my wrist go, and stood directly behind me.

"Azumi, I—"

Loud knocking on the door interrupted.

"Hey! Taichou! Azumi-chan! I know you're both in there! Open up!" Rangiku shouted.

"Oi! Azu-neeeeee! Open up!" Yachiru shouted.

I inhaled deeply, and tried my best to suck back the tears.

"I-I got the door!" I whimpered sheepishly.

Taking back my wrist, I hurried over to the door and opened it to see Rangiku and Yachiru dressed in really cute kimonos. Well, Rangiku's was sexy rather than cute.

"Azumi-chan! Hurry, hurry!" Rangiku said, giddy as ever, taking my hand.

"Rangiku, what's going on?" I forced a smile.

"No, no, no, she isn't dressed up cute!" Yachiru pouted.

I'd only met her a few times, but I liked her bubbly childish personality.

"You're right, Yachiru-chan," Rangiku said, looking at me up and down.

"What's going on here?" I asked, backing up.

"I've got it!" Rangiku smiled.

"Yachiru-chan, I'm leaving her to you for a moment; make her hair look nice!" Rangiku giggled and turned around while Yachiru pushed me toward my room.

Right before she left, Toushirou stopped her.

"Matsumoto, what's going on?" Toushirou asked somewhat irritably.

"Taichou! I'm surprised at you! I told you about it earlier!" Rangiku huffed.

"About what?" He asked.

"Since you don't remember, you'll see! Go dress up nice!" She giggled again and this time really left.

Yachiru shoved me into the bathroom with her and started prepping me as good as a little girl could.

I had no idea what was happening, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

It would be awkward between Toushirou and I from here on out.


	30. Chapter 30

"I love it, Azu-nee! Don't you?" Yachiru asked excitedly.

She put my hair in two high pigtails.

"Uh...I love it, Yachi, but for whatever is going on tonight, I want a different hairstyle," I grinned sheepishly.

"But I do love it! I promise!" I squeaked, hoping she wouldn't get mad.

She thought about it for a few moments—every second that passed I thought she was going to lose it—and then responded.

"You're right, Azu-nee! What should we do instead?" She grinned; I exhaled in relief.

"Hmm, how about up in chopsticks?" I asked; Yachiru gasped.

"Yes! That'll be so pretty, Azu-nee!" She gleamed.

I grabbed them from the drawer I kept them in and started fixing my hair up with them. They were both black with 3 silver, diamond-shaped wires hanging from them. They were so cool looking! Rangiku had bought them for me when we went shopping last Sunday, the day when Toushirou was...

My demeanor immediately dropped again.

What the Hell was I supposed to do now?

I just _confessed_ to _Toushirou_.

How could I even look him in the eye now? How embarrassing.

Rangiku barged into the bathroom at that point, scaring the be-jesus outta me.

"I have your outfit! It's from when I was a lot younger; it should fit you just right!" She gleamed, then paused to look at my hair.

"Yes! I was hoping that you would wear the hair accessories I bought for you!" She giggled.

"But, it's going to be hard getting the outfit over them, so take them off and we'll get you dressed first." She commanded.

I took off the two chopsticks and grabbed the outfit from her. I walked into my room and changed quickly, then walked back.

"Uh, Rangiku…" I started, holding up the front of the outfit as I walked in.

"Yes, dear?" She asked.

"We're gonna have a problem," I said, letting the front of it down.

"I don't have boobs!" I motioned at the huge amount of extra fabric hanging about at my chest.

The outfit fit well and looked fabulous, but the chest area was freaking huge! So huge that it sagged on me. I couldn't get away with wearing this; you could see everything.

Rangiku and Yachi both laughed like hyenas while I pouted.

"It must be nice!" I tried to make a comeback.

"Oh, that was great Azumi-chan! Don't worry, we'll fix it up!" Rangiku belly laughed.

"Rude!" I shouted, flustered.

Rangiku took out some pins and her and Yachi fixed the whole chest area. When they were through, it didn't even look like there were pins; it was impressive. I put on the black flats Rangiku provided for me as well, and then put my hair back up in a bun with the two chopsticks.

I actually liked how the outfit looked on me. Granted, it was a little on the 'sexy-side,' but it's not like I had anything else.

It was an all black, sleeveless kimono with a deep red trim and purple roses with green petals on the bottom. The chest area ended up being a low V-cut, and the bottom dress-part had a slit on each side. The slits went up to my mid-thigh area, and looked all-around scandalous. Rangiku told me to 'suck it up and be a woman for once,' so for fear of her retaliation, I complied. Rangiku fixed my makeup really quick, complete with eyeshadow and lipstick.

"Oh, it's like your Prom all over again!" Rangiku squealed.

"Oh, speaking of which!" She reached into her sash.

"I know it might not be the best time, but," she handed me a couple of pictures.

It was Toushirou and I in front of my house for Prom along with the other pictures she took.

I started tearing up just at looking at it.

"I'm sorry, Azumi-chan, maybe I shouldn't have—"

"No, Rangiku, it's fine, I'm glad you gave this to me. I have news to tell you by the way; I'll tell you maybe later on tonight—now isn't the time." I frowned.

Rangiku poked my stomach and Yachi joined in because she thought it was funny.

"No, no, no! Now's not the time to be sad! Not when I've put all of this together!" Rangiku said.

"All right, all right," I inhaled deeply, trying to suck it up.

"So what _is_ going on anyway?" I asked.

"You'll see when we get there Azu-nee!" Yachi waved her finger at me.

"Shirou-Taichou! Are you ready yet?" Yachi called.

"Yachiru, don't call me that," Toushirou said as he walked up to the bathroom.

As soon as I heard his approach, I tucked the pictures away underneath my sash. Yachi just giggled and walked out of the bathroom tugging on my kimono. I completely avoided making eye contact with Toushirou—although I did sneak a peak at his outfit—and then I quickly put the pictures on my bed, and then let Yachi drag me to the front door.

Toushirou wore an outfit that kind of reminded me of Urahara's usual attire. He had on a black shirt with black pants, and a long-sleeved dark blue haori on top. It looked casual, but still nice and definitely stylish for what everyone in the Soul Society wore.

"Oooh, Taichou! I like your outfit! Although I really prefer clothes from the World of the Living in general better." Rangiku pouted.

Toushirou didn't say anything, but I could hear him and Rangiku following us to the front door.

We all walked—well I was dragged by Yachi—out of the Squad 10 Barracks area and into the main working area of Squad 10. Yachi kept talking about how she was excited for all the yummy deserts that were going to be there, while Rangiku was talking to Toushirou about something in the background that I couldn't really hear.

We came up to a building with the doors shut and all the lights on. Music seeped out as well as laughter and shouting.

"You were supposed to have a meeting tonight, Matsumoto." Toushirou glared up at her; she chuckled.

"I did have my meeting, Taichou! Really, for you to think that I would abandon my duties as your Fukutaichou? Honestly!" She playfully pouted.

Toushirou just sighed and shook his head. Rangiku slapped a hand against his back and laughed.

"I just ended the meeting a little early so that they could help me set everything up! I told you there was going to be a party tonight!" She grinned.

Yachi opened the doors and shouted.

"Oi! The birthday girl's here!"

Everyone stopped and stared at me, and I froze like a deer in headlights.

"Happy belated birthday, Azumi!" everyone shouted.

The look of shock on my face must have been hilarious.

With everything that's been happening, I completely forgot that Rangiku wanted to celebrate my birthday.

I grinned sheepishly and slowly raised up a hand.

"T-Thanks, everyone!" I shouted back.

The room—which somehow reminded me of an old fashioned gym for some reason—was decorated with purple balloons and streamers along with a huge birthday banner on the back wall. There were tables scattered throughout, complete with a snack and drink bar.

On top of that, there was actually a good amount of people gathered. Most of them I knew because they were ranked officers, but there were still some unfamiliar people as well. Most returned to their merry-making, while others—the ones I actually spent time with—came up to greet me.

"Hi Azumi-chan! You look lovely! Isn't this a nice party?" Kyoraku said with his approach.

"Hi Kyoraku-Taichou! Yes it is; it looks wonderful!" I smiled.

"Thank you for coming!"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss a birthday for cute little Azumi-chan!" He grinned; I blushed.

"Aw, thank you!" I said, slightly bowing.

Ukitake came up alongside him with Nanao.

"Hi, Azumi-chan! I agree with Kyoraku, you look lovely! Thanks for inviting us!" Ukitake smiled.

I thanked him as well, and greeted Nanao and all the usual friends I hung out with. After all the greetings, I realized that Rangiku, Toushirou and Yachi all ditched me.

I looked around and spotted Rangiku by the drink bar. I crept away, and came up to her as she was getting a drink from the bartender.

"Rangiku!" I called.

She turned around with two drinks in her hands.

"Azumi-chan! I was just getting us some drinks! Nice party or what?" She grinned, handing me one of the drinks.

I took both of the drinks from her hands, set them down on the bar behind us, and hugged the be-jesus out of her.

"Rangiku, do you even understand how much I love you? You're my best friend, and I appreciate you so much!" I said, gripping her tightly.

"Aw, Azumi-chan! You're gonna make me cry!" She squeaked, squeezing me back with one of her death hugs.

"Good! Because you're making me wanna cry because you're too kind to me!" I whimpered back.

Even though things between Toushirou and I had just seemingly gone to shit, my mood was completely lifted the moment I walked into this building. I never wanted to lose any of this—I didn't want to ever lose Rangiku.

"Well we can't start crying now! We're supposed to be having fun!" She pushed me back, looking into my face with a huge grin.

She reached back and grabbed the drinks again, handing me one.

"Cheers, and happy belated birthday, Azumi-chan!" She said, raising her glass.

"Cheers!" I said.

I then clanked my glass with hers and downed my drink.

I almost puked.

There was alcohol in it, and I was still partially hungover from yesterday.

Rangiku burst out in laughter.

"A-Azumi-chan, you're not supposed to down the entire drink!" She said in between laughs.

"I thought that's what you were supposed to do when you do 'cheers!' I've never done it before, okay?" I shouted, holding my throat and grunting.

Rangiku was in tears from laughing so hard.

"Oh, my goodness, that was hilarious! Want another?" She asked in between laughs.

"Just water please!" I coughed.

"Water, please!" Rangiku asked the bartender.

He gave her a glass of ice water and she handed it to me. As soon as she did, Yachi tugged on my kimono and I almost fell.

"Azu-nee! Come with me to get dessert!" She begged; I chuckled.

"Sure, Yachi!" I grinned.

Rangiku came with us to look at the spread. There were all kinds of goodies; some which I had no idea what they even were, but they all looked delicious!

"Dig in, Yachi!" I grinned and told her.

She squealed and giggled as she started grabbing a little bit of everything. I grabbed a plate and filled it up with fruit, cheese, and crackers, then looked for a place to sit. I spotted an empty table in the back.

"Rangiku, I'm gonna go sit down and eat with Yachi, wanna come?" I asked.

"I'll pass, I have to go check on some things—enjoy the food!" Rangiku smiled and bailed.

"Ready to go sit, Yac—" I turned around to see that Yachi disappeared.

I smiled and shook my head. That girl was too funny; just a bundle of energy.

I walked over to the table, sat down and started eating. I scanned the room as I did, and realized that a lot of people were already drunk. The worse part about it, is that I started feeling light-headed from the huge glass I drank of spiked punch. I sighed and sipped some more water, then shoved a cracker in my mouth.

The chair next to me pulled back—which scared me and almost made me choke—and someone I was definitely not expecting to be anywhere near this place, sat down next to me.

"Takashita-san, I didn't know your birthday recently passed! Happy belated birthday!" Hinamori greeted.

I gulped down my food and cleared my throat.

"Hi Hinamori; thank you, I appreciate it!" I forced a small smile.

Even though Toushirou said he didn't have feelings for this girl, she still had my heart beating _something_ _fierce_ with anxiety. It just seemed so awkward now, especially how not even a few hours ago there was a weird scene that played out in the World of the Living.

"Everything came out so nice! Matsumoto-Fukutaichou did a really great job!" She smiled.

"I completely agree!" I smiled and took a sip of water.

"Hey, Hinamori, I'm sorry if you felt a little awkward a few hours ago; that was an old friend of mine from when I still lived there. I had to pretend you guys weren't there since you didn't have gigais, and I figured that since we had some time, we could all enjoy the carnival." I smiled sheepishly, twiddling my thumbs.

"Oh, no problem at all, Takashita-san! Your friend seems really nice. He's quite the attractive one too!" She giggled and blushed.

I forced a chuckle before my reply.

"Oh, yeah, he is a really nice guy." I nodded.

I didn't want to comment on the attractive part because if I got that slammed in my face at all later, I'd be pissed.

We had light chatter for a little while, and then Yachi came over and yanked at my kimono again.

"Azu-nee! No one will dance with me! Not even mean Kenny! Can you please dance with me?" She asked.

Although I was terrible at dancing, I decided to humor Yachi to get out of talking any longer with Hinamori. The longer I stayed talking with Hinamori, the more uncomfortable I became.

"Sure, Yachi! Let's go!" I faked a smile of excitement.

"Hey, Takashita-san, wait a minute! Yachiru-chan, can she dance the next song with you?" Hinamori asked with that sweet, innocent voice of hers.

Yachi pouted.

"Aww…okay fine, Hina-chan. I'll be right back!" Yachi replied, heading straight back to the dessert table.

"Everything okay, Hinamori?" I asked.

"Yes, yes," she smiled.

"But, I did want to talk to you about something," she scooted closer to me and leaned toward my ear.

"Shirou-chan is _mine_ ; I don't plan on giving him away to you so easily. Take this as a fair warning."

I was completely baffled.

What. In. The. Hell.

I leaned away from her to see her smiling back that normal, innocent smile of hers. She acted like she hadn't just threatened me or anything! I never expected such a venomous threat to ever part from this girl's lips—I shivered involuntarily in response.

Before I could reply, Yachi came running to me, jumping up and down.

"The songs over! Now we get to dance!" She grinned and pulled me to my feet.

"Have fun, you two!" Hinamori smiled and waved.

"Bye bye, Hina-chan!" Yachi chirped.

I stared at Hinamori uncomfortably as Yachi and I disappeared into the crowd on the dance floor.

I swayed with Yachi awkwardly for a few songs and knew that I was _for sure_ tipsy—I even started getting a headache. Rangiku and Ikkaku came over to us, drinks in their hands.

"Sup guys?" I smiled as they approached.

"Baldy-chan came to dance! Yay!" Yachi squealed.

The look on Ikkaku's face was priceless. He couldn't tell her off because she was his Fukutaichou, so he had to calmly tell her—if only I'd had a camera.

"Kusajishi-Fukutaichou, please, I-I've told you, kindly refrain from calling me that," he asked through gritted teeth.

I almost lost it and started laughing then and there. The way he asked and his facial expression were too good to be true.

"But you _are_ bald, Baldy-chan!" She laughed and jumped up to his shoulder to pat his head.

I couldn't handle it, and neither could Rangiku—we both cackled like hens.

"Hey! Shut up, you two!" Ikkaku shouted at us, mad and blushing.

"But it's too funny!" I said in between breaths. Then my head started pounding from laughing.

"Eesh, my head," I whined.

"What's wrong with that noggin of yours, kiddo?" Rangiku asked, poking at my head.

"I got a headache from that drink from earlier." I said, rubbing in between my eyes.

"You know how to make that go away?" She asked; I shrugged.

"Drinking more!" She laughed, handing me her drink.

"Oh, God no!" I said pushing it away.

"Oh come on, Azumi-chan, it's _your_ party! You need to celebrate!" Rangiku nudged me. "No one will say anything!" She winked.

"I don't know," I mumbled.

"I'll say something! You're a _weakling_ if you don't drink that!" Ikkaku shot a comeback at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

I took Rangiku's drink and chugged it.

"Who's the weakling now, _Baldy_?" I shouted at him.

"What?" He shouted back at me.

"Oh good God. Stop it you two!" Rangiku got between us, even though she was laughing.

"Fight, fight!" Yachi clapped laughing.

I started laughing as well.

"No, no, no, another time! No hard feelings Ikkaku!" I patted his shoulder.

"Let's just have fun tonight!" I laughed.

I left to grab Rangiku and myself another drink—water for myself—and then came back to mingle and attempt to dance with her, Yachi, Hisagi and Izuru.

A couple hours went by, and luckily I decided to stop drinking after the challenge with Ikkaku—I was not about to get slammed like last night. Even though with all the emotions going through me, I had a mind to do it anyway.

I pulled Rangiku aside and took her outside since it was hot inside and I needed to cool off.

I told her what happened earlier in the evening with Toushirou and Hinamori, and how I told Toushirou my feelings for him right before she came knocking on the door. I also filled her in on what Hinamori said to me at the table when I first got to the party.

Hinamori literally left the party after her 'awkwardly threatening' encounter with me—which I wasn't even mad about. If she was going to be problematic, then I didn't want her to stay at the party anyway. Rangiku assessed everything I said, and while I was talking had a huge smile across her face. I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol in her—or me for that matter—or if she really was excited about something.

"And that's about it. Now I'm just here; buzzed, awkward and confused about how to go about everything. I can't even look Toushirou in the face." I concluded.

He had been around the entire time. Observant as always, hanging out with some of the other Taichou that showed up, or talking to random subordinates of his. I felt like he was _specifically_ keeping an eye on me, but was trying to seem like he wasn't. I tried to ignore his presence, but the alcohol made that extremely hard not to think about.

"Oh, Azumi-chan, you cute, adorable, little crazy-head! That's all good news!" Rangiku grinned.

I looked at her dumbfounded.

"How is _any_ of that good news? It's horribly embarrassing, and now I have someone who's trying to compete with me? Like I'm some arch nemesis or something? Plus, now that he knows, I'll probably not be able to stay with him anymore, or even be around him!" I frowned.

"Well, if it comes down to that, you're staying with me for sure. Secondly, that means that you have a _huge_ chance! He said he doesn't like Hinamori that way, _and_ it's not like he had a chance to respond to you anyway; he might just come out and confess, Azumi-chan! You never know!" Rangiku gleamed.

Well, when she put it that way…

A small smile started tugging at the corner of my lips.

"Y-You, really think so?" I asked.

"Don't make me shake you, Azumi-chan!" Rangiku threatened.

"Okay okay! Just don't do it, I'll get sick and it'll be all bad!" I whimpered.

"Be optimistic for once! M'kay?" Rangiku asked.

I shook my head.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I nudged her.

We decided to go back in and saw that a lot of people left. The only ones that were left were the people I knew minus Kyoraku, Nanao and Ukitake, and some random squad members I'd never met. It was getting fairly late anyway, midnight was just around the corner.

"Now seems like the perfect time!" Rangiku squealed as we entered the room.

"Yumichicka! Hanatarou!" She called.

I looked at her confused.

"Time for what? Bed? I'm sleepy!" I chuckled.

Rangiku grabbed my hand and pulled me to one of the tables. She shoved me into one of the chairs and pointed at me.

"Stay!" She ordered.

"Yes mam!" I complied with a chuckle.

She ran off real quick, and then came back with a medium-sized present wrapped in black with a purple bow. She huffed and set it next to me on the ground.

"R-Rangiku! What did you— _when_ did you—"

"Shush! It's your birthday, I don't wanna hear it!" She cut me off as she ran away again.

Everyone that was left started to gather around me. I suddenly felt really uncomfortable since I was suddenly in the spotlight again.

Toushirou came up and stood at the closest table on my left. He leaned up against it, facing me directly. I made it a point to not look in that direction as I twiddled my thumbs and kept a sheepish grin on my face.

Rangiku and Yachi came back with a couple of gift bags and a _huge_ pink, cat-shaped pillow; I already assumed the pillow was from Yachi. I giggled and tried to peek at everything; Rangiku almost swatted me for the attempt. She was having way too much fun with this, and I was happy that she was.

"Ah! Yumichicka! Good!" She grinned.

I looked at the door and saw Yumichicka and Hanatarou coming in with a huge cake.

"Oh, my..." I trailed with a blush as they set it on the table in front of me.

It was a huge white cake with a bunch of strawberries on top, and some pink frosting that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY AZU-NEE!' in letters that were a little lopsided and dragged. It had a huge winky-face on it along with seventeen candles throughout. I grinned and got teary-eyed.

"You guys!" I exclaimed in an excited and surprised whimper.

"Your cake was a work of art and beauty made by Hanatarou and yours truly;" Yumichicka explained proudly, complete with a hair wave.

"Until Kusajiishi-Fukutaichou scribbled all over it and got excited with the candles!" he finished, getting frustrated.

Yachi winked at me and giggled with a thumbs-up in response.

"This is so awesome! Thanks so much you guys!" I said, inhaling deeply to hold back my excited tears.

"Shakkaho!" Rangiku shouted.

I cringed out of reflex and Yachi laughed at me. I opened my eyes and saw that Rangiku had a small Shakkaho at the tip of her finger and was lighting all the candles; I laughed.

"And that's how the Shinigami do!" I grinned.

"You know it!" Rangiku giggled and winked.

When she finished lighting the candles, she whipped out her phone—which was for assignments only, mind you—and snapped a picture of just the cake. She then aimed the phone at me.

"Smile!" She told me.

I followed her command in fear of getting smacked. She snapped a picture of just me, then rammed her face up against mine and snapped one of the two of us.

"Izuru! Can you take a picture for us?" She asked.

"Of course!" he replied, stepping up and taking the phone from Rangiku.

Rangiku grabbed Toushirou by the wrist—which he definitely contested to—and had him stand next to me while she stood on the other side of me. I tried my best to keep my composure.

"Smile, Taichou!" She giggled.

Toushirou exhaled loudly, and then after a few more seconds, Izuru took the picture of us.

"Thanks, Izuru!" Rangiku said, taking her phone back.

"Lights!" She shouted.

Immediately someone turned off the lights, and her and Toushirou got out of the way.

"Okay everyone! Ready?" Rangiku shouted.

Oh God.

"1, 2…"

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

"3!"

Everyone in unison—including Toushirou surprisingly—sang happy birthday to me. I didn't know what to do other than be stiffer than a rock and grin sheepishly.

"Make a wish!" Yachi shouted at me.

I grinned then blew out the candles; everyone clapped. When the clapping stopped, Rangiku immediately set the cake on a different table and Yachi put her cat pillow present on the table.

"Here's my present for you, Azu-nee!" She grinned.

"It's adorable, Yachi! I love it; thank you!" I grinned and wrapped her in a big hug.

"I knew you'd like it!" She shouted excitedly.

She took it and set it to the side, and then Rangiku set the huge present on the table.

"From me, Azumi-chan!" She gleamed.

"Rangiku, you shouldn't have!" I grinned.

I untied the bow and started tearing at the wrapping. I opened the box and saw clothes neatly folded inside.

"Aw, say what!" I grinned.

"New outfits! Aw, thanks, Rangiku!" I said while I dug through them.

"You need some casual outfits _that are feminine_ to wear while you're here! Happy birthday, Azumi-chan!" She smiled and gave me a huge hug.

"Thanks again!" I squeezed her.

I opened all the other gift bags and got some really cool stuff.

Ikkaku gave me some type of clay used to seal wounds, Yumichicka gave me a feathered red hairclip, and the others got me cool little knick-knack type things that would definitely be hung up on the walls when I got back. I noticed however, that none of these presents were from Toushirou. I kind of was a little sad about it, but at the same time, it's not like I could be mad at him.

At the end of opening all the presents, I got up and thanked everyone for coming and for all the gifts. It took all I had not to just burst out into tears then and there, but I successfully just grinned and kept my composure.

"Yachi wants cake!" Yachi shouted as soon as I'd finished.

Yumichicka proudly served his cake to everyone, and everyone agreed that it was absolutely delicious. If he had gotten any more compliments, his head would've exploded from how big it got—it was hysterical.

After that was all over with, Toushirou went up to Rangiku—who was busy having another drink—and she nodded and drunkenly saluted him with a giggle. He shook his head, and then walked over to me.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied, making sure not to make eye contact.

"Matsumoto and the others are going to deliver your presents to the house tomorrow and take care of all the clean up here. Ready to go? It's getting late." Toushirou asked.

I nodded; I was getting pretty tired now that all the alcohol was pretty much out of my system. Sleep sounded pretty good.

"All right, let's get going then." Toushirou stated.

He turned and walked to the door—myself following suit. When we got outside and a little distance away, he spoke up.

"There's a place I want to stop at before we go home, will you come with me?" He asked.

I was partially surprised—Toushirou never went anywhere this late.

"Sure," I replied.

"It's out of the way; I'm going to flash-step. Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

We both took off flash-stepping out of the Squad 10 area.

He was right—it was definitely out of the way.

After a few minutes, we arrived at a lone hill that was almost near the middle of the Seireitei. I started breathing heavily to catch my breath.

"You all right?" Toushirou asked.

I forced a small smile.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just not that fast without Yoru or Imuza helping me."

"I see, I'll go slower next time; my apologies." He said.

"Don't be, it's all right." I replied.

I looked around and saw nothing but trees and the barren cliff part of the hill. I furrowed my brows, confused.

"So, uh, what were you planning on doing here?" I asked.

Toushirou walked over to one of the trees at the edge of the hill and leaned against it. I followed and just stood next to him.

He looked up at the half moon in the sky, and it was then I noticed just how much you could see from this spot. The whole Seireitei lit up with the faint moonlight, and some of the mountains were vaguely outlined in the background—it was really beautiful.

"I wanted to talk to you about earlier," he spoke up.

I froze.

Before I could say anything, he continued.

"First off, I want to emphasize the fact that if you think your relationships with everyone are just a 'fleeting sensation'—as you worded it—tonight should in itself have proved you wrong." He looked at me for confirmation.

I nodded and cracked a small smile.

"Yes, tonight definitely proved that," I replied.

I could tell he was staring at me, but I still refused to look at him; after a few moments he continued.

"Now, as for what you've said earlier about your feelings for me," he began.

I quickly interrupted.

"Forget I said anything. I am so sorry, Toushirou. What I said was—"

" _As for what you've said,_ " he interrupted right back at me; I shut my mouth and he continued.

"If it was true, then that would— _at this moment in time_ —mean that if the rest of the Soul Society became aware, they would send you away to be monitored elsewhere. They would question your loyalty, and my own. As I've said before, it could lead to your imprisonment or execution, and my imprisonment as well. Do you understand?" He asked, briefly pausing.

"Yes, I understand. Toushirou, I—"

" _At this moment in time,_ however." He interrupted again.

Once he made sure I wasn't going to interrupt, he continued.

"After everything is said and done with this upcoming war against Aizen, it would be fairly less difficult getting away with it."

He got up from his leaning position, and walked over to me.

"So,"

He stood directly in front of me now, and lifted my hands. I shuttered and kept my eyes toward the ground; blushing from the closeness.

"If you're willing to keep it a secret—I'm willing to keep it a secret,"

My eyes widened and my head snapped up to look at him.

He let one of my hands go and gently placed his hand against my cheek, tucking in some stray strands of my hair behind my ear as he did.

His eyes shifted from my cheek to my eyes, and a small smile graced his features.

"In all the years I've lived here in the Soul Society, and of all the countless people I've met, you stand out more than anyone else." He paused.

"You are the most confusing, clumsy, goofy, sarcastic, caring, and most beautiful person I have ever met." He chuckled and let a smirk slip.

"And you are irreplaceable to me; you are the person I'd risk my life to protect, and the person I would like to keep in my life from this day forward."

I stood there absolutely dumbstruck at his words.

"Takashita Azumi,"

He stepped closer; closing the small gap between us.

" _I love you_." He said.

I was frozen.

My heart pounded, and my eyes instantly became watery.

I couldn't even comprehend the three simple words that he'd just said.

The boy I fell in love with…loves me too?

I giggle-whimpered, and shook my head with a wimpy smile on my face.

"Dammit, Toushirou. Why do you always have to say just the right things to make my heart feel like it's going to burst through my chest?" I whimpered out.

"I could say the same to you," He replied, that smile of his bigger than I'd ever seen it.

"You have no idea how happy you've just made me, Toushirou; I-I can't believe this," I said, voice shaky from my haywire nerves.

He let go of my other hand and slid it around my waist to the small of my back; the hand on my cheek sliding ever so slightly toward the back of my head.

"I-I love you," I stammered out.

"And I you," he smiled.

Without another excruciating second, Toushirou gently pulled me in, and closed the gap between us.

His lips met mine, and a flurry of emotions erupted in my stomach—the pounding in my chest grew even stronger—and my mind became lost in absolute bliss.

He lingered there briefly, and as his lips left mine, he rested his forehead against mine.

"You're something else, you know that?" He said, no doubt with a grin on his face.

I started crying in response to the overwhelming happiness I felt.

"I k-know! I-I'm sorry!" I squeaked, trying to settle my breathing.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, pulling back to wipe away one of the tears falling down my cheek.

"I-I can't help it! I'm so overcome with emotion that my mind's having trouble processing!" I said in an unwanted whimper.

He chuckled and reached in his pocket.

"By the way Azumi—I didn't get a chance to say it earlier; you look beautiful in that kimono. Also, I have something for you,"

He took out a small box from his pocket, and placed it in my hands.

"Happy belated birthday, Azumi." He smiled.

"You—Toushirou, you d-didn't have to," I stammered out.

"Of course I did. It's not much, but still," he smirked.

"Just open it," he pushed it toward me.

I sniffled and looked down at the small black box tied with turquoise ribbon. I pulled the ribbon and took off the lid.

Inside the box was a black and silver bracelet made of ribbon. The bracelet had three silver pieces dangling from it; a quarter-moon, and two stars all made of metal.

"I wanted to give that to you here with the view of the moon; I hope you like it."

"This is beautiful, Toushirou; I love it," I said, taking it out to look at it.

"I'm glad. It reminded me of you when I saw it today, so I had to get it; I'm sorry it isn't very much," he said apologetically.

"D-Don't be sorry! This is absolutely perfect! It is by far the most meaningful gift I've ever received; thank you so much," I grinned.

I tried to put it on, but when Toushirou saw my hands shaking, he took it from me and started trying to clasp it on my right wrist.

"You're welcome," he said, setting it in place.

When he let my hand go, I wrapped my arms around him in a hug and nuzzled myself in the nape of his neck.

He held me like that for a few moments, and I loved every single second of it. I leaned up and kissed his cheek, and we stayed there enjoying the moonlight in each others company.

By far, these past few hours have been the most cherished moments of my life, and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.


	31. Chapter 31

Rangiku came over early the next morning—surprisingly—with all of my presents from my birthday celebration.

I helped her bring everything in, and once we took everything out of the gift bags, she plopped herself on the bed in my room, and started taking out some of the clothes she bought for me. I leaned against the doorframe, still in pajamas.

"Sooooooooo, how are things?" She dragged out excitedly—her facial expression implied like she knew.

I blushed.

Last night seemed like it was a dream; I had to keep convincing myself that the male in the kitchen cooking and I were both officially infatuated with each other.

My mind flashed back to when we got home last night and how when we both laid down for sleep, he held me close and told me he loved me.

It was such a surreal feeling; waking up next to him and having him give me a quick kiss good morning—I could definitely get used to that.

"Hello! Anybody in there? Azumi-chan!" Rangiku shook me.

I hadn't realized I had been that lost in thought; I grinned and let a giggle slip.

"Oh, uh, things are great!" I said.

She grabbed my wrist and inspected the bracelet Toushirou bought for me.

"I knew you'd like this!" She grinned.

"Oh Azumi-chan! You have no idea how happy I am that Taichou finally confessed to you!" She shook me excitedly.

"H-Hey! H-How did you know about that?" I asked flustered.

"Call it a woman's intuition!" She winked.

"Well don't say anything to anyone! You know what'll happen!" I whispered harshly.

"I promise; you and Taichou are too important to me. I refuse to lose either of you!" She grinned as her eyes diverted behind me.

"Plus, you and Taichou are both too cute for jail!" She reached back.

I looked to the side to see her pinching Toushirou's cheek.

When the Hell did he get there? Immediately I turned around to make my escape.

"Matsumoto! Stop pinching my cheek!" Toushirou shouted at her.

"I didn't tell her, Toushirou! She figured it out!" I shouted at him as I ran away to the kitchen.

"Taichou I'm so proud of you; you finally got your first girlfriend! You little cutie!" Rangiku squealed.

"Oi! Don't call me little! Stop pinching me!" Toushirou shouted with Rangiku laughing.

I got to the table and saw that Toushirou made all three of us breakfast. I jumped around like a kid.

"Yes! Hello beautiful!" I shouted.

"Rangiku! Chef-Toushirou made food!" I hollered.

"Woohoo!" She shouted back, shuffling over.

"Great, I'm starving!" She pulled up a chair and sat.

Toushirou wandered over, face scrunched in aggravation from Rangiku's pinching. I pulled up a chair for him and pointed at it.

"Sit! I'll grab the drinks. Tea, right? Rangiku do you want tea as well?" I asked.

She nodded and I got a three cups from the cupboard to prepare the tea.

"So what are your plans for today?" Rangiku asked the both of us.

Even though she couldn't see me I shrugged.

"Whatever Toushirou has planned I suppose." I replied nonchalantly.

"Taichou?" Rangiku asked.

"I was going to stop by the office for a little while to get some more work done. Other than that, I didn't have anything planned." He said.

"But Taichooooou, it's Sunday! It's our only real day off! We should go do something fun!" Rangiku prompted.

I walked over to the table and gave everyone their tea before sitting down.

"She's got a point; you should enjoy your days off, Chef Toushirou," I chimed in before taking a bite.

"Oh! I know what we can do! Let's go to the hot springs today!" Rangiku gleamed.

"It'll be a relaxing recuperation day from all the drink—err, hard work the past few days!" She giggled.

Toushirou didn't look impressed.

"That actually sounds really nice; I've never been to a hot spring." I added in.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeease Taichou?" Rangiku pleaded.

"Hot springs, hot springs, hot springs," I started chanting; Rangiku joined in and I almost couldn't hold my giggles.

We both started hitting the table for more emphasis, and started getting louder and louder each time we said the set of words. Toushirou shook his head and crossed his arms; which made us get even more obnoxious.

Finally, he exhaled loudly and caved.

"All right! Let's go to the damn hot springs!"

"Hooray!" Rangiku and I shouted in unison.

"It's gonna be so much fun, Taichou!" Rangiku squealed.

"I'm so excited!" I joined in her squealing.

"We'll go; but I'm still going to the office to get some work done before hand. Period." He said matter-of-factly.

"Fiiiiiine, but don't take too long, Taichou!" Rangiku grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," he said before taking another bite.

-[×]-

A few hours went by, and around lunch time Toushirou finally came home to Rangiku and I. We all ate quickly, and then were off to the hot springs.

As it turned out, the hot springs were outside of the Seireitei, so it was like a double-whammy for me. I got to go to a hot spring _and_ get a quick tour of the Rukongai. It definitely represented old-world Japan waaay more than the Seireitei did in my opinion. Rangiku explained the districts as we walked, and I listened intently while looking around like I was on a tour.

"The thing to remember the most about being here, is that although there is crime and it looks run down; the Rukongai is the place with the most freedom in the entire Soul Society. And most choose to stay here for that reason." She said.

I took it all in, only commenting here and there. As much as my mind didn't want to sway to the thought—if I ever had to bail, here would be the place. There would be absolutely no place to hide in the Seireitei. If desperate times came to desperate measures, at the very least I could survive here.

Finally we arrived at the hot springs.

It was a _huge_ building that looked really, _really_ cool. I was so entranced by it that I didn't even hear anything that Rangiku was saying to the host. I just kept staring at all the detail in the building.

"Matsumoto, that isn't the best idea," I heard Toushirou say.

I snapped out of my trance and walked back to the group. I squeezed myself in between Rangiku and Toushirou and looked at the both of them.

"Oh, stop it, Taichou! We're all adults here!" Rangiku laughed.

Toushirou mumbled something and looked away. I looked over at him; he had a blush on his scowling face.

"What'd I miss?" I asked Rangiku, chipper as ever.

"More like what _aren't_ you going to miss…" she replied.

"Matsumoto!" Toushirou grunted while Rangiku laughed hysterically.

I looked back and forth between them; confused. At that moment the host stepped out and motioned us to follow him.

We all walked down the hallway toward what I assumed was the changing room. We got to the end of the hallway and the man stopped and turned to face us.

"Ladies, your changing room is to the left, and sir, yours is to the right. An assistant will hand you your attire and direct you where to go. Thank you," the man said with a bow.

"Thanks!" I said to him with a thumbs up.

"See ya, Toushirou!" I waved.

He half-heartedly waved back, and refused to make eye contact—which was weird.

Rangiku grabbed my hand and started walking with me into the room. I giggled thinking about the locker room back at Karakura high.

"Welcome, ladies! Here are your robes and towels. Which part of the hot springs will you be visiting today?" The lady standing at the entrance asked, handing us the items.

"The public hot spring today," Rangiku gleamed.

"Wonderful choice! Please remember however that you may only take one towel to dry off, and no towels when you're in the water. You are more than welcome to wear the robes when visiting the buffet or the lounge area. Please enjoy your time and don't hesitate to ask anyone for assistance!" The attendant said.

"Thank you!" Rangiku immediately replied and started dragging me along.

Wait a minute.

"Rangiku! We _are_ going to the all female section, right?" I asked.

"Nope!" She grinned and started changing.

"Oh. My. God. Rangiku!" I shouted at her.

"Oh stop! You know you're curious!" She smirked.

I blushed like a school girl.

"Well, I mean, uh, the thing is, uh—well yeah!" I stammered out.

"But him seeing _me_ is a different story!" I whimpered.

"You'll be fine! Quit being a weanie!"

She chuckled and took off her clothes.

"Oh my—" I shrieked and looked away.

Rangiku laughed at me, standing up.

"You and Yoruichi; I swear!" I pursed my lips.

"Come on, Azumi-chan, lets hurry up; the Taichou might already be out there waiting on us." She said, fixing her towel around her.

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered out.

I took off my clothes and quickly wrapped myself in my towel; holding it firmly in place while Rangiku laughed.

"Nice features there, Azumi-chan," she grinned.

I blushed again and didn't make eye contact.

"T-Thanks I suppose. Y-you look great too," I stuttered, which made her laugh more.

We put our clothes away, put our hair up, and walked out to the public spring. The spring itself looked like it would be really _really_ relaxing. There were lots of trees and bushes around, along with stones outlining the water.

The pool of water itself must've measured to be as big as two baseball diamonds put together. It honestly looked like something out of a picture book that you'd look at and say: 'Man, if only that were real.' I suddenly became super excited that it seriously _was_ real and that I was about to go in it.

However, the one thing that really stuck out was…the nudity.

I couldn't help myself; I definitely looked at everyone everywhere. I tried so hard not to, but ended up doing so anyway. Today was definitely going to be a day where there would be infinite blushing. I bit my lip to try to stifle my nervous and embarrassed laughter.

We searched around and found Toushirou; who was practically the only person there besides Rangiku and I with a towel on.

Seeing Toushirou shirtless for the first time was definitely a sight to see; let me _tell_ you. He had medium-toned muscles, but to me he was like Grecian-God chiseled perfection. Heaven, Toushirou be thy name. And the best part about it was—he was all mine.

We walked over to him, and I completely tried not to make eye contact or swoon over him.

"I am so excited! Come on you two; let's go in!" Rangiku exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah, ladies first you two!" I pushed the both of them.

"What do you mean 'ladies?' Why are you pushing me?" Toushirou looked back at me with his embarrassed angry face.

"Oi! Matsumoto!" a familiar voice called.

Oh my God.

Ikkaku, Hisagi, Yachi, and Hinamori were walking over to us.

I wasn't so shocked seeing Yachi, it was more the guys and Hinamori. Ikkaku and Hisagi were both in towels—thank God—but shirtless and no doubt not ashamed of being without the towel. They also looked a-ma-za-zing.

However, my main concern of course was Hinamori. I hadn't told anyone beside Rangiku about what happened; so I had to try hard to keep my cool.

"Rangiku!" I whispered harshly.

"Matsumoto," Toushirou growled.

"Hi guys!" Rangiku waved, ignoring our protest.

They walked over to us, seemingly unfazed from all the nudity around us. Was I seriously the only one trippin?

"Yo!" Ikkaku and Hisagi greeted.

"H-Hey guys!" I greeted sheepishly, stepping behind Toushirou.

God, Toushirou had a toned back.

" _Shit; focus!"_ I mentally cursed at myself.

"Azu-nee! There's a bunch of naked people here!" Yachi announced loudly.

I couldn't help but crack an awkward smile.

"I know, Yachi; I'm not over it either," I crouched down to her level to hug her.

"So you should get naked too!" She grinned menacingly, and tried to rip off my towel.

"No! Yachi! Knock it off!" I screeched at her embarrassingly and held my towel in place.

"Yachiru-chan! that isn't very nice!" Hinamori came and tried to get her off me while Yachi giggled like a demonic child; Rangiku laughed.

"This is too great! I'm glad everyone came after all! Although I wasn't expecting you, Momo-chan!" Rangiku greeted her.

Hinamori stopped trying to help me and turned to respond to Rangiku.

"Well, evidently Yaciru-chan found out about Ikkaku and the rest of you coming to the springs today. Kenpachi-Taichou told her she couldn't come unless she got a female to escort her. And her first thought was me, so I figured a day at the hot springs would be nice!" Hinamori explained.

I finally poked Yachi's stomach and took the advantage of her laughter to get her off me—little twerp!

"Well I'm glad you're here! It was getting to be too many males anyway," Rangiku chuckled.

"Let's get in guys!" She clapped.

Without a moment's hesitation; Ikkaku threw off his towel and jumped in.

I slapped my hand over Yachiru's eyes and Toushirou slapped his hand over my eyes.

"H-Hey! Why'd you cover my eyes, Azu-nee?" Yachi asked.

"Because you're too little!" I said sternly.

"Why'd _you_ cover my eyes?" I pointed the same question at Toushirou.

"Because you're too little." He used my same answer.

I shook my head flustered, and pushed his hand off my face.

"Smart ass," I grumbled; he smirked in response.

It was then I realized that now I had to get in.

Oh God, oh God, oh God. What was I going to do now?

As the others walked past Toushirou, Yachi, and I, I frantically tried to think of an alternative way of getting into the spring without showing anything.

I looked around like a frantic mouse for any type of cover—I spotted a bush not too far off.

I immediately sped past the others and grabbed Rangiku.

"We're getting in over here!" I squeaked sternly.

Rangiku laughed at me.

"Fine, fine; our guys are perverts anyway!"

We walked over to the bush with Hinamori and Yachi, and I made _absolutely sure_ to be completely covered before taking off my towel. I crouched down and got in quickly; setting my towel next to the bush as I did.

Yachi straight up jumped in without a care in the world, while Rangiku and Hinamori followed my lead. Honestly, I didn't care if Rangiku or Yachi were to see me naked; but it seriously bothered me if Hinamori did. It was too late now though; I guess at the very least I'd see her nude as well that way we're both in the same boat.

Or, should I say hot spring… _ba-dum-dis!_

I looked over to the guys and saw that all of them were already in—so much for shame!

I cautiously walked with Rangiku and Hinamori toward the guys in our group; my arms crossed and upper body under the water up to my shoulders. Hinamori followed suit while Rangiku didn't care that her boobs were practically above the water.

Toushirou looked away from Rangiku; his face turning red. Ikkaku and Hisagi had no shame in trying to look.

"You freaking pervs!" I shouted at them.

"Hey! I am not a perv!" Ikkaku shouted back at me.

"Yeah, Azumi-chan! Neither am I!" Hisagi nervously shouted.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer!" I stuck my tongue out at them.

"Hey! Naked or not, I'll still take you down, Takashita!" Ikkaku shouted back grinning and making his way toward me.

"You wish, baldy!" I taunted.

"What? That is it! I hope you can swim, Takashita!"

"Do it, I dare you! It'll only make you even more of a perv!" I smirked.

"W-Why you!"

"AHHHHHH!" I shrieked and backed up.

"Something touched me!" I flailed.

Everyone backed up and scattered back to the edge of the water at my reaction.

I looked back at where I was and saw a pink head of hair spring up out of the water like a breaching whale.

"We're playing sharks and minnows!" Yachi grinned and laughed.

I exhaled in relief.

"Dammit, Yachi! You scared the be-jesus out of me! You shouldn't be swimming under the water and grabbing people's butts!" I shouted at her, redder than any tomato.

Rangiku immediately belly laughed at my reaction as Yachi grinned innocently.

"But Azu-nee! It's funny!" She whined.

"Yachi, there are _things_ under the water that you shouldn't quite see yet! You should stay above the water and relax!" I swam back to her and scolded her.

"That's no fun at all, Azu-nee!" She pouted.

"Watch, look how much fun this is!" She took a deep breath.

"Yachi! No!" I shouted at her.

But it was too late—she dove right in.

Everyone's face dropped except Rangiku's—who was laughing like a freaking hyena. The guys crouched over and covered their junk—which was freaking hilarious—and started backing up even more toward the edge.

Ikkaku jumped high up, shrieking with smoke and a freaking tidal wave; Toushirou and Hisagi both were splashed by the sudden outburst. All shreds of mystery left about Ikkaku were now completely gone—I just couldn't look away.

"You seriously just launched a Shakkaho? Fukutaichou!" he shouted.

"See! Isn't this fun?" Yachi giggled, coming up in between Toushirou and Hisagi.

"Yachiru!" Toushirou and Hisagi both yelled at her.

She just giggled and went to attack Ikkaku again. Through all the madness, Hinamori tried to control the situation of Ikkaku shouting and Yachi playing a dangerous game of Sharks and Minnows.

"Yachiru-chan! Calm down! We're in public—you need to behave!" Hinamori waddled over to where they were, cradling and making sure to cover her breasts as she did.

Oh man, was I rolling! Rangiku's belly laughing didn't make it any better either. I crept over to Toushirou, trying to control my laughter.

"You look like an angry cat that just got a bath!" I teased with a huge grin on my face.

I got an angry, flustered face from him in response and laughed even more.

"S-Stop! It's so funny it hurts! Oh man!" I couldn't stop.

Toushirou pushed his hair back.

"I do not!" he splashed me.

My bangs slapped down over my eyes and I heard Toushirou chuckle.

"H-Hey! No fair!" I grinned and splashed as much as I could manage with one arm.

He splashed me back like it was a competition; it was so on!

Yachi took advantage of the shenanigans and splashed the crap out of Hisagi—who was trying to keep his cool and not splash back, but did so anyway—and then came to me for backup.

"Ha! Now it's two on one!" I snickered and swirl-splashed him.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Toushirou protested.

"Isn't that what I said earlier?" I laughed at him.

"Oi! Knock it off before we get thrown out!" Rangiku giggle-scolded.

"Yeah! Listen to your Fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-Taichou!" I snickered and swam away.

"Not in this life!" Toushirou glared over at her like a pouting kid.

"Aw, you love me, Taichou!" Rangiku grinned.

As I swam away toward the edge and looked back toward everyone; everyone aside from our group in the hot spring was staring at us angrily.

Oh God, how embarrassing.

I stood straight up without even realizing it and bowed.

"S-Sorry, everyone! We'll stop now, promise!" I raised my arm up and grinned sheepishly.

It was only then I realized everyone in our group was staring at my chest.

"Gaaah!" I immediately crouched down and covered up.

Rangiku and Yachi laughed while Hisagi and Hinamori looked away; faces red. Toushirou stared at me and I immediately glared at him until he looked away.

"Hah! And you call yourself a female! You don't even compare to Matsumoto!" Ikkaku shouted triumphantly with a huge smirk plastered across his face.

I craned my neck like the spawn of Satan and sunk down until the water was just beneath my eyes.

"I-Ikkaku! You shouldn't have done that!" Rangiku shouted wide-eyed.

Everyone backed up from Ikkaku and myself. I lifted my index finger of my right hand and pointed it at him, Cero forming at the tip of it.

"H-Hey! What are you doing? We're in public!" Ikkaku shouted at me.

I sunk completely under the water, and launched the tiny shot at him.

Needless to say, revenge was definitely extracted.

-[×]-

After all the horse-play, the staff came out and told us all to behave or leave. So we toned it down and actually relaxed in the soothing hot waters for the remainder of the day. Rangiku and some of the others enjoyed some cold Sake to cool them down in the hot spring while the rest of us just leaned back and relaxed.

Hinamori had to—of course—be right next to Toushirou the rest of the time. It made me so uncomfortable I just wanted to gag. She kept going on and on about their childhood and how they used to have to do all kinds of things together; I could just tell she was doing this purposely.

I wanted so incredibly badly to just wedge myself right in between them and make awkward conversation in hopes that she might just leave. Toushirou didn't really look too thrilled about the whole situation. He knew that I didn't quite care for Hinamori, but he didn't know about her weird threat from last night either. I'm sure if he did, it'd be a different story for sure.

Then again, we were both keeping our newfound relationship completely under wraps, so it wasn't like he could tell her to back off in that sense.

Yachi was next to me; splashing somewhat quietly to herself. I wish that I was so upbeat like Yachiru—she never was sad about anything; just constantly having a good time. Maybe that's the true key to being a kid—who knows.

I decided not to be in the immediate vicinity of the others—especially Hinamori and Toushirou—so I wandered off toward the other end of the hot spring. Yachi followed me, giggling and such behind me.

"Hey, Azu-nee; does Yoru-Yoru need a bath?"

"Yoru-Yoru?" I looked at her dumbfounded until it finally clicked.

"Oh! Yoru no Shedo! Uh, I don't know; why don't we find out?" I smiled.

"Yes, Yes! Bring out Yoru-Yoru!" She grinned.

"Yoru," I called.

On cue, my earrings glowed and Yoru materialized above me and landed on my head. She landed lightly so that her talons wouldn't dig into my skull.

"Yay, yay!" Yachiru clapped.

"Yes?" Yoru no Shedo asked.

"Hi, Yoru; just thought I'd invite you to enjoy the hot springs with me. If you don't want to be out and about, I understand—my apologies." I answered.

I could feel Yoru looking around and fluttering her wings into a more comfortable position.

"Wha-What! Yoru-Yoru just spun her head all the way around, Azu-nee!" Yachi exclaimed, border-line freaking out.

I laughed.

"She's an owl, Yachi. Owls can spin their heads almost all the way around. There are so many really cool things about owls; I'll have to read you some books sometime," I patted her head while she nodded.

"I suppose fresh air would be rather nice," Yoru no Shedo commented.

"Do owls like water, Yoru-Yoru?" Yachi asked, propping herself up with my shoulders to get closer to Yoru.

Yoru stalled for a few moments, no doubt staring at Yachi. I looked over and noticed Hinamori swimming over to me—goodie.

"I've never been in water," Yoru responded.

"Oh!" Yachi started getting excited.

"Try! Try! Try! Try!" She giggled.

I lightly pushed her off me.

"Yachi, don't make Yoru do something she doesn't want to do," I chuckled.

Suddenly, Yoru no Shedo flapped her huge wings and dove out toward the water. She skimmed the top, and twirled using her speed. Yachi thought it was entertaining and jumped after her.

As everyone's attention focused on Yoru and Yachi, Hinamori came over next to me.

"So that's Yoru no Shedo's true form?" She asked with a pleasant tone.

"Yep, that's her." I replied, crossing my arms to cover my bare chest.

Hinamori grabbed my arms and pushed them down until they were at my sides.

"We're both females; you don't have to cover up with me, Takashita-san." She smiled.

She was being nice… _too_ nice.

"Enjoying the hot spring?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Yes! Thanks for asking! Its really nice being able to spend so much time with Shirou-chan; it's been quite a while since we've been able to enjoy each other's company," she looked over at him, that smile still spread across her face.

"O-Oh, yeah, I could see how it might be difficult." I commented, looking over at Yoru.

"He really has _grown_ , if you know what I mean," she said without hesitance.

I looked at her in confusion—she couldn't be implying what I think she was implying.

I decided to play stupid.

"I-I don't know what you mean, actually." I responded.

She looked right at me.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't since you don't _know_ him as well as I do. He and I have lived many, _many_ years longer than you have; you probably are still a virgin anyway."

What. The.

I looked away from her. Could she really be telling the truth? That they did the…well…

My mind flashed to a picture of the both of them in the act and I immediately shuttered and frowned.

How could Toushirou not tell me that their past was _that_ intimate? It made me feel like throwing up from all the sad emotions flowing through me.

I didn't even know what to say back to Hinamori at that point. I stood there like a lifeless doll complete with a blank stare.

"I'm glad that you're having fun with everyone, but know this: I'll be watching your every move from this point forward. You get too close to him, and I'll tell the Soutaichou _directly_ about you. How you're trying to get comfortable within our ranks for Aizen's bidding. Who do you think they'll believe?" She turned to me and smiled.

"A monster, or the Fukutaichou and acting Taichou of Squad 5?"

This bitch was seriously cruisin' for a brusin.

Now I was pissed.

Curse having to play the part.

"Listen, Hinamori. As far as Hitsugaya Toushirou goes, we're nothing more than friends. I am under his supervision and that's the end of it. Whatever is going on between the two of you is none of my concern. However, what _is_ my concern is you saying things that are false. I've done nothing to you; if you don't like me, then I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll make it a point to stay clear of you, but I'm not going to just let you dictate what happens to me because of your pettiness."

I turned to her and stepped directly in front of her; getting in her face.

"My actions will speak louder than any of your lying words; count on that." I glared.

Honestly, if my existence wasn't hanging in the balance I'd Cero right through her. What a nasty, twisted bitch she turned out to be; nothing at all how Toushirou described.

"We'll see about that," she smirked.

At that moment, Yoru and Yachi came back to us; Yoru arriving before Yachi.

Hinamori smirked at me, then put back on that innocent face of hers and swam back to the others.

I sank down to eye level in the water, sizzling from the huge amount of anger that brewed in mere minutes.

"Master, your orders," Yoru prompted.

I didn't even have to ask to know that Yoru no Shedo could sense something was up. I blew out air from my nose; staring at the bubbling water it created. I rose up just enough to speak.

"Don't let me do anything reckless." I whispered.

"Understood." She complied.

"Other than that, relax and enjoy the fresh air and hot water." I added.

Yoru no Shedo shook herself to get any water remnant off her feathers, then flew up into one of the trees.

"Oh no! Why'd she go?" Yachi frowned, coming up in front of me.

"She wanted to dry off for a bit. I think I heard Ikkaku talking about you though; you should go see what he's up to." I forced a smile.

"Okie okie, Azu-nee!" She grinned and swam off.

I sulked off to the edge of the hot spring away from everyone and leaned back against the stones lining the ground.

I looked up into the sky and took a deep breath.

If it was a fight Hinamori wanted, it was a fight she was going get.


	32. Chapter 32

After relaxing the rest of the day along with stuffing ourselves at the incredible buffet the hot springs had to offer, we all decided to part ways once we reached the Seireitei. Hinamori left with Yachi while Ikkaku, Rangiku, and Hisagi went to one of their normal bars.

As soon as Toushirou and I got home, he turned the deadbolt of the front door, and immediately turned to interrogate me.

"What happened?" He asked.

"With?" I asked, sitting on the couch.

"Hinamori." He answered.

The thought of our two weird encounters flashed back through my mind; especially the image I had of her and Toushirou doing the…

I shivered thinking about it again.

He sat down next to me, arms crossed, staring at me.

"I know she made you angry; I could tell immediately after your conversation with her that you weren't having fun anymore." He stated.

I crossed my arms as well and wedged myself back into the corner of the couch between the arm rest and the back support.

Did I really want to ask Toushirou if what she said was true? Well, we were 'intimate' now—although secretly. Didn't that mean that I should know everything and be able to ask anything?

But the thought about asking that question particularly felt like it was a little too much information. Like it penetrated deeply into—

Oh God dammit.

I groaned aloud and shook my head at my own poor choice of mental wording and shuttered. Toushirou cocked an eye at my odd reactions.

"What happened?" He asked again.

I exhaled loudly. Well, here goes nothing.

"Hinamori threatened me twice; once yesterday and once today." I told him.

He sighed and massaged the niche of his nose.

"What were the threats?" He asked.

"To stay clear of you or she'll tell the Soutaichou that we're infatuated with each other and that I'm working with Aizen." I smirked sarcastically.

"She said that she's watching me from this point forward. Which reminds me; we should probably keep the blinds closed from now on. We have a 'Peeping-Tom' on our hands." I chuckled in irritation.

A few moments passed, and Toushirou got up to shut all the windows.

I could tell he was frustrated, but the emotion that displayed even more was hurt. I felt terrible telling him the truth, but what was I supposed to do? Lie? That'd hurt him even more.

After he shut all the blinds in the house, he sat back down with me on the couch; leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Something's not right. Hinamori isn't like this at all; she's acting completely out of character. Even normal conversations between her and I leave an unsettling feeling lately." He exhaled loudly.

"I'm sorry she said those things to you. I promise that I won't let her get away with it." He looked at me with determination; I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I appreciate it; but this isn't going to be such an easy situation. She made a valid point; they're more likely going to believe a high-ranked officer rather than a monster. And to make matters worse; the more you defend me, the more everyone will believe that she's right." I sighed loudly.

He didn't say anything; just continued to hear me out.

"I'm sorry about all this, Toushirou. I know the two of you have an _intimate_ history, I'm sorry that my existence wrecks everything." I took my hand back and frowned.

He turned to look at me. "What do you mean by _intimate_?" He asked.

"Uh, well, I guess, you would know more than I would," I blushed and turned away.

I could feel his gaze on me; it felt like it was piercing the side of my face.

"No, I wouldn't. What are you implying?" He asked.

I couldn't help but slightly delay my response.

"S-She said that the two of you were more than _just friends_." I paused and turned to look at him.

"She implied that you guys have…uh...well…"

He didn't move a muscle, just waited for me to complete my sentence. I couldn't look him in the face to say it; I looked completely in the opposite direction.

"She implied that you two have…done _it_ before _._ " I breathed out.

"What is _it_?" He asked.

I sighed loudly—talk about not taking a hint.

" _Sex_. She made it seem like the two of you have had sex before and that she knows you more _thoroughly_ than I do."

I took a deep breath and turned around to face him.

He didn't even flinch—he looked like an ice statue.

"You're joking." He stated.

I shook my head.

He faced forward and stared at the wall; his face turned slightly red from embarrassment, but that was the secondary emotion displayed.

I was trying to find words in my head to make the situation better, but I couldn't think of any on the spot. I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat and ended up leaning forward as well.

"Do you believe what she says?" Toushirou asked.

"Honestly, not really. However, the point that she also made is that the two of you have known each other longer than I've even been alive—it's a definite possibility. You and I haven't really discussed our 'love life history' yet; maybe there was something in the past that you didn't feel like sharing with me before. However, don't misunderstand me—I'm not at all implying that I think you're a liar. I'm just saying that I don't know everything about you yet. If you say that you didn't do it; I'll believe you. Hinamori seems like a pathological liar to me at this point; so I don't want to take her words too seriously." I explained.

I paused for a moment and put my hand on his lap.

"If she's telling the truth; then there's nothing I can do about it. The past is the past; we can only move forward. However, if you're going to return my feelings like you say you are, then I do need to know what _exactly_ the relationship is with her." I explained.

He leaned back a to an upright position and seized my hand; staring with a serious intent into my eyes.

"I would never lie to you, Azumi—especially with something like that. What she's implying never happened or _ever_ will. Hinamori is merely a childhood friend. I care a lot about her, and have always tried to protect her. I thought that maybe one day I would grow feelings for her, but it never ended up happening. If this is how she's choosing to act, however, then maybe it's time this friendship stops here and stays in the past. As much as I didn't ever want to lose Hinamori, it may just be for the best." He explained.

I squeezed his hand, and put my other hand on top of his.

"I appreciate that you've told me the truth in how you feel about her. It means a lot to me that you're able to trust me enough with your feelings. Although, I really don't think that you can just cut off the friendship you have with her—if you do that she might just retaliate toward the both of us. As much as it pains me to say this, you're going to have to put up with her and her petty shenanigans. I'm sorry that she's only now acting this way." I frowned.

"It's fine; it isn't your fault. You can't control the actions of others." He commented.

I let go of both his hands and draped my arms around his shoulders.

"I can't blame her though, you are _irresistible_." I chucked.

"Am I making you feel awkward yet? Because that's definitely my goal." I laughed more.

He leaned his head against mine and breathed deeply.

"No, you haven't—y _et_ ," he replied.

"Well damn! That means I have to work harder!" I said, nuzzling my forehead against him.

"I'm sorry that Hinamori's doing this," He said.

"Let me repeat what you said to me a few seconds ago: 'you can't control the actions of others.' Hopefully she changes her ways. But I will say this; when everyone is allowed to know about us, no one's going to get away with trying to steal you. I'll Cero their ass—count on it." I smirked.

"Same with you," he replied.

I backed up and looked at him, and he returned my gaze.

"So this is why you don't like Hideki. Right? Were you jealous?" I smirked, poking him.

A faint blush spread across his cheeks and he turned away.

"Maybe," he huffed.

"Aww! Well ain't that cute!" I squeaked, pinching his cheek.

"Hey!" he furrowed his brows at me, which made me start laughing.

He swatted my hand away and pinched one of my cheeks in retaliation.

"Hey! Stop!" I grinned and grabbed both his cheeks.

He grabbed my other one and started pulling at it.

"You're the one that started it!" he narrowed his eyes and tried to wiggle away.

"Yeah, so you stop first so that I can also finish it!" I laughed.

A few more moments passed and the tugging on each others faces started getting painful.

"You do realize that I'm not going to let go first, right?" I winced and smirked.

"You're definitely going to let go first!" he retorted.

"Fat chance! I refuse to lose to the likes of—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Toushirou pulled himself toward me and planted a kiss on my lips. I was so in shock that I ended up letting go.

After I let go; he let go of my face and rubbed both cheeks where he pinched delicately, then pulled back triumphantly and leaned back against the couch.

"Told you." He smirked.

I could already tell that my face was red.

"B-B-But that was cheating! You can't just do that! You played dirty!" I huffed and looked away.

He chuckled and got up from the couch.

"It's all fair game now; there was nothing dirty about it. You could've kept holding on." He snickered.

I grabbed a couch pillow and threw it at him.

"What part of using my weakness for you against me isn't playing dirty?" I steamed like a little steamboat.

"The part where it was a win-win situation for the both of us. Well, more of a double-win for me anyway," he threw the pillow back at me and walked to the kitchen.

I glared at him as he passed and he had that smirk spread across his face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You win _for now_ ," I huffed and tried to make myself stop blushing.

I could hear him in the background filling up the teapot with the water from the sink.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked.

"No. I'm all right; thanks." I replied and got up.

"I'm gonna go get changed for bed."

"I'm going to as well," he started walking out of the kitchen toward me.

I completely assessed his statement incorrectly.

"W-Wha? B-But isn't it too early for that?" I squeaked.

He cocked an eye at me.

"For what?" He asked.

I crossed my arms over myself, blushing like a fool.

"F-For us to change together! I-I mean, I know you saw me e-earlier, but aren't these things supposed to happen much later?" I flustered.

He cracked a small smile at my explanation.

"I wasn't implying that at all; I was going to go change in a separate room."

I exhaled in relief.

"O-Oh, good then! I thought that you were going to follow me into the guest room!" I laughed nervously and turned around.

"Unless you want me to," he replied, tease in his voice.

"N-No! I'm good!" I scurried away; I could hear him following behind me to tease me.

"You're right! It isn't like I haven't seen you before,"

"N-No it's all right!" I waved him off behind me.

"What happened to all the tough talk? Are you afraid to show me? You look great anyway, there isn't a reason to be embarrassed." he chuckled.

"Nope its fine! I'm good!" I tried to shut the door on him but he pushed through it and I ran to the bed to grab a pillow.

He dodged my blow and grabbed the other pillow to retaliate.

"Why so shy suddenly?" He asked with a huge smirk on his face as he tried to smack me with the pillow.

I inched back as he launched a barrage of blows at me. He successfully hit me with pretty much every one, and I couldn't stop laughing.

"Because this is all so new to me that I don't know how to react to anything!" I heaved out between giggles, trying to block all of his hits.

"You realize I'm new to his as well, don't you?" He responded.

I took the advantage to smack him while he spoke, laughing like a mad woman.

I backed up around the other side of the bed, completely cornered on three sides. He was coming in for the kill; I held the pillow up in defense.

"W-Well yeah, but you're way more confident than I am! I'm just an embarrassed weanie!" I caught my breath and hid my face behind the pillow; waiting for his final attack.

I heard the bed creak and then felt a poke on my stomach.

I flinched in surprise from the poke, and peeked through the pillow to see that he was now sitting on the bed, leaning back on his arms.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed; I'm not going to judge anything you do. I want you to be comfortable around me rather than on edge." He said, a small smile sweeping his features.

God he was so cute.

I sat down next to him and twiddled my thumbs.

"Well, I would hate to go in for a kiss or something like that and you not want that too; then I'd feel really embarrassed." I blushed.

"Is that how you felt when I kissed you earlier?" He asked.

I shook my head immediately.

"N-N-N-No! Not at all! I loved it! It caught me off guard and I'm still not used, but I'm not against any affection you show toward me! I just haven't actually kissed anyone before; I don't really know how." I replied sheepishly and a little too quickly.

He shook his head, that smile still on his face as he let out a breath.

"Good, you had me worried for a moment." He said, putting his hand over mine.

"I'll only go as far as you're comfortable with; we'll take small steps. If either of us goes too fast, we'll slow things down. We'll learn everything together; sound good to you?" He prompted.

I shook my head vigorously.

"Sounds great!" I grinned.

"Okay then, it's settled." He squeezed my hand in confirmation.

Maybe it was a spur of the moment, or maybe it was my heart just taking over my body completely, but at that moment I couldn't resist any longer.

I scooted closer to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

He was completely surprised at first, but immediately used his other hand to gently cradle my cheek.

I visualized every _light_ make out scene I'd seen from every movie and tried to mimic it, albeit reluctantly.

I moved my lips against his, and he joined in; completely in sequence with my movements. My heart was beating furiously in my chest as he gently caressed my cheek with his thumb.

I squeezed his hand while trying to keep up with this new found dance our lips were performing. He nibbled ever so gently on my lower lip that sent a new flurry of butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I sharply yet quietly inhaled, and he breathed out a chuckle in response. I could feel the smirk playing on his lips as he moved his hand from my face to the bottom of my head. He pulled me in a little closer to deepen the kiss, and completely established his dominance.

The kiss became faster and deeper, and I completely was taken over by the new, seductive pleasure he induced. I gathered the courage to sneak my hand under the back of his shirt, feeling all his muscles and remembering just how amazingly entrancing he looked earlier today. I could tell he wasn't expecting me to do that, but he continued on with the kiss; successfully making my insides tremble with all of these new emotions I couldn't even describe.

Suddenly, the tea kettle whistled and scared me. I pulled back with a gasp and then realizing what it was shook my head at myself.

"Stupid thing!" I mumbled flustered.

Toushirou chuckled and stood up.

Embarrassment took over me and I couldn't look him in the eye. I looked down at my hands, twiddling my thumbs instead; mentally panicking over what just happened.

" _Was I terrible? Is that how people do it? Should I not have just gone in like that? Did he even like that? Did I mess everything—"_

He leaned down and placed his hands on either side of me and looked me straight in the eye, cutting off my internal rambling.

"I can tell you're mentally beating yourself up about what just happened. Stop it. You did fine. Better than fine—you did great. I loved every second of it; you're amazing." He paused to make sure I heard his words.

"I'm going to go get the tea kettle and then go change; I'll see you in a few moments."

He planted another kiss on my forehead, and walked out of the room.

As I watched him walking out, I realized just how lucky I was. My love for him flourished even more, and I was so incredibly happy. I realized then and there that at that moment forward, I would do anything for him with absolutely no regrets.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I woke up in the middle of the night with thirst. It was really odd, I normally never woke up for that reason.

I carefully got up; being cautious not to wake Azumi up. She was moving a lot in her sleep earlier and now had her back facing me. She flinched at my movement, so I stood still until her breathing evened before I walked out of the room.

I looked at the clock in the living room as I passed; 2:54 a.m. We still had a little while to sleep before going to the office.

I opened the cupboard, took out a glass and filled it with water. I took a quick swig, and set it next to the sink. The faint moonlight peeked through the curtains, so I opened them to look out at the night sky.

So much had happened within the past few days that it was hard to believe. I hadn't ever been this happy; yet I hadn't ever felt this betrayed either.

What happened to sweet, innocent, bed-wetter Momo? Why was she suddenly acting this way? She had always wished for my happiness; as I always had for her. What could possibly have snapped in her to cause her to act this way? Thinking about it made me even more sad.

"Knock it off," I mumbled to myself, taking another gulp of water.

It was what it was; she wasn't the Momo I knew anymore.

The quicker I accepted it, the quicker I would get over it.

On another note, I couldn't believe that this was all actually happening with Azumi. It was as if this was all a dream. The fact that I—of all people—found someone that actually cared this way about me was truly astonishing. No one broke through my icy demeanor like she did; it was as if she could just see right into me at times. It was scary, but at the same time satisfying since no one has ever been able to accomplish the feat. She was like the breath of fresh air that I've needed for many, many years. I pictured her with that goofy grin spread across her face, and caught myself smiling.

With the thoughts of her easing my tension, I finished the water and set the glass in the sink.

I turned around and froze.

There was a shadow in front of me, coming through from the window behind me.

I spun around quickly and saw no one there at the window.

Azumi's words about a 'Peeping-Tom' immediately popped into my head.

It couldn't be Hinamori…could it?

I immediately went to the back sliding door and went outside. I looked around cautiously, and tried to sense reiatsu.

Nothing.

This person was masking their reiatsu.

I flash-stepped on top of the back wall and scanned the area again.

Nothing.

I shook my head and hopped back down to the porch and headed inside.

First of all, if there was someone snooping around, they'd be pretty unintelligent to pick a Taichou's house as their target. Second of all, if it was Hinamori, would she seriously take it this far? To try to spy on us at 3 in the morning?

I locked the door behind me, and went back to the window in the kitchen to shut the curtains.

Once I shut them, I made sure every place in the house was locked before heading back into the room.

I walked into the room to see Azumi sitting straight up out of bed, looking around frantically.

"Oh, it's you!" She exhaled in relief.

I cocked an eye at her.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

She shivered and laid back down.

"I could've sworn someone was outside just now; but I guess it was just you." She yawned, laying back down.

"You thought so as well?" I asked.

She sat back up.

"What do you mean _as well_?"

I walked over and got back into bed next to her.

"I got up for some water and could've sworn that I saw someone outside, so I went to take a look and didn't see anybody." I laid down with my arms behind my head.

She just looked at me.

"Well that makes me feel better… _not_." She held herself and rubbed her arms.

"Don't worry about it; I'll stay up and make sure that no one comes in." I told her with a yawn.

She snuggled up next to me.

"Well I guess we're both staying up, because now I feel like I'm being watched and that scares me." She sighed.

"I'll give you 20 minutes before you fall asleep."

"Pffft, ye of little faith! I can totally stay up!" She pouted.

"Whatever you say," I smirked.

"Yeah that's right! I'll prove it!" She huffed and re-situated herself against me.

"Sweet dreams,"

"Shush it, Toushirou!" She whined.

She took a couple moments, and then she spoke up again.

"Speaking of sweet dreams; I had a pretty good one just now. I haven't been able to have any type of dream lately without it turning into a nightmare—this one was great," she giggled.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yup! Do you guys celebrate Halloween here?" She asked.

"I've never even heard of that," I admitted.

"Damn it! Fine, we'll have to go to the World of the Living then. It's a holiday that takes place on October 31st. It's basically where kids dress up in costumes—adults sometimes too—and go house to house trick or treating for candy. It's got a lot more background to it, such as the dead walking the earth and all, but that's the gist of it. Huh. Now that I think about it, you and the others are pretty much the definition of the dead walking the earth," she stopped and laughed; I rolled my eyes and shook my head at the bad joke as she continued.

"Well anyway, I had a dream where the Seireitei was a Halloween world and all of us were actually monsters. Rangiku was a witch, you were a werewolf and I was a ninja! But anyway, it's was great! You looked adorable as a werewolf! Rangiku even played fetch with you and made you shake your hand like a dog and it was just too awesome!" She squealed and pinched my cheek.

"You even called yourself Wolfman Hitsugaya! Oh man!" She laughed.

I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

Was this what girls dreamed about when they had a crush on someone? Just imagining myself playing fetch sent shivers down my spine.

"We're dressing up this year like them for sure! It's gonna be freaking hilariously awesome!" She shuffled her feet around like an excited child.

"No way. That sounds too embarrassing." I argued.

"Oh come on! It'll be great! We even get candy! Ukitake will be all over it—he'll totally chaperone us! Oh and Rangiku too! She'd love to dress up as a witch! Come on Toushirou!" She lifted her head up to look at me.

"No." I told her.

Of course she couldn't take that as an answer.

"Aw come on, Toushirou! Pleeeeeease!" She begged.

"You wish." I answered.

"You're damn right, I wish! Oh my God. Yachi would make such a cute little fairy! Oh man, I'm getting them in on this tomorrow! Oh man!" She giggled.

"You guys go right ahead, I'll sit out this time."

"No! You can't! Come on!" She whined.

"Absolutely not." I reaffirmed.

"But Toushiroooooou!" She whined.

"No."

She quickly went in and stole a kiss. I blushed at her action and she pulled back and looked at me with determination in her eyes.

"Pleeeeeease?"

As much as it pained me, I couldn't resist her gaze.

"I'll think about it." I huffed, looking away.

I heard her giggle, and then she went in for another kiss. She pulled back and laid against me.

"Hooray! I'll take it!" She giggled and snuggled into me.

I sighed and put my hand on her head.

I held her close to me, and once she calmed down, within 15 minutes she was snoring.

I swept her hair behind her gently, and stared up at the ceiling. I smiled, taking comfort in every single moment.


	33. Chapter 33

**Takashita Azumi**

"But Taichoooooou, I don't feel good; we should take another day off. You've got Azumi-chan and I both working like dogs; can't we just take one more day?" Rangiku asked from her horizontal position on the office couch.

Toushirou picked up a stack of paper and lightly tapped them on the table to straighten them.

"For the last time Matsumoto, no _means_ no. We're not taking today off." Toushirou finalized.

"But Taichooooou!" Rangiku pouted.

"No, damn it!" he slammed the papers on the desk.

I snickered at his lack of patience as Rangiku continued to explain exactly why we should all take another day off—it was hilarious.

"Fiiiiine," Rangiku huffed.

She got up to take my place at her desk, and I got up and sat on the couch.

"Well, what if I helped her with her work so we could leave early?" I prompted.

Toushirou shot me a 'oh-no-you-just-didn't-betray-me' look while Rangiku gleamed.

"She's got a point, Taichou!" Rangiku said in sing-song voice.

Toushirou glared at me; I sheepishly grinned and shot him a peace-sign with my fingers.

He shook his head and sighed.

"I guess." He said half-heartedly.

Rangiku jumped out of her seat and buried me in those huge breasts of hers in a hug.

"Aw Azumi-chan! I love having you around!" She squeezed.

"Y-Yeah! Love being here!" I chuckled through strained breathing.

"Let's get started, Rangiku!"

"You got it!" She grinned, let me go, and started sorting out the paperwork on her desk.

I looked over at Toushirou who was staring at me. I shot him a wink and he shook his head; I chuckled in response.

Rangiku walked over and set half her stack on the small coffee table in front of me.

"Here ya go, Azumi-chan!" She grinned.

She explained exactly what I had to do, and then went and sat at her desk. I slithered down the couch and sat on the floor, crossing my legs underneath the coffee table.

"I'm letting you guys know now, I'm not gonna be able to hear you. If you need me, you'll have to get up and let me know." I announced, grabbing my music player from my pocket.

"Why? What are you up to over there?" Rangiku asked.

"I work better with music, so I'm gonna crank up the volume and get this stuff done." I waved my music player.

"That's another thing! Taichou we need music in here, it's so boring!" Rangiku shot at Toushirou.

"Azumi-chan should play her music!"

"Absolutely not. You'll be singing along all day and not getting your work done. I know how you operate," Toushirou shot back.

I snickered and Rangiku huffed.

"Trust me, Rangiku, you wouldn't like my music. It's very, uh, different. Some people think it's too violent and scary so they don't like it. But, I know of some other artists that you might like. Maybe I'll show you later." I smiled.

"Fiiiiiine," she huffed and sat back down in her seat.

I chuckled at her reaction and put on my headphones.

After about an hour or so, I was halfway done with the work Rangiku had given me. I had focused so much on it that I didn't even lift my head up to check on the others. It was almost lunch time and I was pretty hungry at that point, so I decided that I should see if they were ready to go eat.

Before turning off my music, I got up and stretched out. When I turned around to look at them, it took everything I had not to show any type of anger.

Hinamori was sitting on the corner of Toushirou's desk.

I took off my headphones and wrapped them around my music player.

"Hey Hinamori," I greeted; trying not to sound half-hearted.

Toushirou peeked up to look at me and I could just tell that he knew I was uncomfortable. Honestly, I was more mad at the fact that I didn't even notice her entry. The one time my music worked against me…

"Hi, Takashita-san! I tried to say hello earlier, but you didn't hear me. My apologies," she smiled sheepishly.

"No problem at all," I replied.

I walked over to Rangiku—who was actually doing her paperwork—and leaned against her desk.

"Hey, are you hungry yet? I realized that I'm starving." I asked.

She leaned back in her chair and let out a breath.

"You know, now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry! Taichou, Hinamori, want to go get lunch with us?" Rangiku asked.

I knew she asked Hinamori for the sake of politeness, but I internally cursed the fact that she extended the offer.

"Sure! Sounds great! Are you hungry yet, Shirou-chan?" Hinamori smiled.

Ugh.

I hated when she called him that.

Toushirou didn't say anything at the name part, but nodded and stood up.

"Sure, food sounds good," he commented.

I walked out of the room first; I sure as Hell didn't want to even look at Hinamori. The whole situation angered the absolute shit out of me. What the Hell was she trying to accomplish? She needed to stick with liking Aizen. They're both psychopaths; if that isn't a match made in heaven, I don't know what is.

Rangiku walked by my side on the way to the would-be-cafeteria while Toushirou and little-miss-sunshine walked behind us. I couldn't help but ear hustle their conversation.

She mainly talked about her subordinates and how her day was going; a little later on in the conversation she suggested that the two of them should go out to dinner later. Toushirou declined and said that he didn't feel like going out. I mentally pumped my fists and had to stifle a snicker.

We arrived at the lunch hall and got some food, then sat down at one of the empty tables. Rangiku sat at my side while Hinamori and Toushirou sat in front of us. Hinamori was directly in front of me while Toushirou was in front of Rangiku.

Rangiku made light conversation; mainly about the hot springs yesterday and how there was another really good one that we should all try out sometime. I didn't really talk; I was more focused on eating. I didn't say a peep until prompted by Hinamori.

"So, Takashita-san, tell me more about yourself! Are you enjoying staying here in the Soul Society?" She asked.

I finished chewing the food in my mouth and forced a swallow.

"Yeah, I am. It's really nice here." I answered before taking another bite.

"Oh good, I'm glad that you're accustomed to it! How is it living with Shirou-chan? I know he can be a handful sometimes; hopefully you guys get along at the very least." She giggled and patted Toushirou's shoulder.

It took all the willpower I had to not roll my eyes.

I cleared my throat and replied.

"Living with Hitsugaya-Taichou is fine; I try to help out here and there with cleaning at least a little bit,"

"Aw well that's very nice of you! It's nice to meet people who understand that if you're over-staying your welcome in someone else's home, that you should probably do all you can to pay them back. Which reminds me, you should probably stop by the store and pick up some watermelon; Shirou-chan loves his watermelon after all," She smiled.

All I did was stare at her.

Did she really just try to throw a guilt-trip at me?

I cleared my throat from the awkwardness.

"Hinamori, she isn't over-staying her welcome; it's part of—"

"Watermelon—got it. Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to pick some up on the way back to Hitsugaya-Taichou's home." I interrupted Toushirou.

"Good! I'm glad I was able to help! Say, since we're on the topic of food, I was wondering; do you eat normal food because you have to, or is it to try and fit in with the others? I thought that Bounto and Hollow only ate souls; it's a little weird for me to see you eat," She giggled.

Are you _freaking_ serious?

I could feel the tense air around me. I took a deep breath to try and inhale all of the curse words back down my throat before they came out.

"Momo-chan—"

"Well, contrary to popular belief; I've learned that Bounto are actually just immortal humans." I interrupted Rangiku.

"Therefore, they have the same needs as any other human. The only difference is that they require a soul every now and again to—"

"I see! That's interesting!" Hinamori interrupted.

"So do you ever feel like a cannibal when you eat another person's soul? I mean, I could only imagine when you eat a Hollow that you must feel bad! It's similar to a mass murder because of all the souls trapped inside—"

"Hinamori, that's enough." Toushirou cut in sternly.

"Oh, Shirou-chan! I was only asking a few questions; Takashita-san doesn't mind—right, Takashita-san?" Hinamori turned to look at me.

I grit my teeth.

"No, not at all." I lied with a forced smile. "Knowledge is power after all,"

Hinamori nodded and giggled.

"You're absolutely right! See Shirou-chan? Everything's fine!" She smiled.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to use the facility. After that I'm ready to leave when you guys are; I'm done eating. Be right back," I said getting up.

As calmly as I could, I walked over to the restroom.

I could've punched her square in the face.

What a horrid, horrid person she was! The nerve! And with no shame at all in front of Toushirou and Rangiku! Some _freaking peach_ she turned out to be! As soon as this shit is all said and done with and I can openly tell people about Toushirou and I; she's getting an ass-whoopin!

I took deep breaths in the stall to try and calm myself down. The angrier I got, the higher the chance I might actually do something regretful.

' _Regretful? What's so regretful about taking out a bitch like her? Ne, Azumi? I could even do it for you! She looks like she'd make a good appetizer to your little Toushirou!'_

Damn it.

Of all times for Imuza to show up.

I kept my breathing at a good pace, and tried with all my might to keep Imuza's taunts silenced. I took a few extra minutes, and then after straightening myself up; headed back out there.

Toushirou and Rangiku were standing up while Hinamori still sat. I walked up and grabbed my plate. There was still quite a bit of food on it, but my anger completely zapped whatever hunger I had left.

"You guys ready?" I asked.

"Yep!" Rangiku responded for the both of them.

"Good," I turned around to take my plate back to the kitchen area with them, and then we all started walking back toward Squad 10's division.

Hinamori started walking with us, and then mid-way excused herself.

"Well, thanks for spending lunch time with me! I've got to get some work done; I'll see you guys later!" She grinned and waved.

"Shirou-chan, please let me know if you change your mind about dinner!" She told him.

He nodded, and with that she left. As soon as she was out of earshot, Rangiku quickly came up at my side.

"Are you okay, Azumi-chan?" She asked, putting a a hand on my shoulder.

I could feel Toushirou right behind us, and knew that Rangiku beat him to the question.

"Yep. _Peachy-keen_ , actually. Can we go train or something for a little while? I feel a desperate need to kick something's ass." I asked.

"Taichou?" Rangiku asked.

"That's fine; the two of you can go. I still have some work that I have to get done. I'll expect the two of you back in two hours." He replied.

"Thanks Taichou," Rangiku said.

"Thanks," I said as well.

"Azumi-chan, I just have to stop back at the office to pick up Haineko; after we can go."

"Okay, that's fine." I replied.

We got back to the office, and as Rangiku went into the other room to grab Haineko, Toushirou put his hand on my shoulder.

"You did well in keeping it under control; I'm sorry she said those things to you." He tried to comfort.

"Yeah, same to you. It's fine; it isn't your fault." I turned to him and tried my best to throw a smile on for him.

He wasn't convinced at all.

"Even so, its unfortunate that she said those things,"

"Toushirou, let me remind you that this isn't my first rodeo. I've always been picked on; I get it. Does it hurt? Yes, but I just have to force myself to get over it. I need a few hours, then I'll be fine." I explained.

I put my hand over his briefly and sighed. I knew he wanted to say more, but couldn't because of where we were.

Rangiku came out and we promptly left.

-[×]-

The rest of the afternoon was pretty mellow.

Rangiku and I trained for a little while and then went back to the office to do more paperwork. As promised, we finished Rangiku's paperwork early so we could leave early.

Toushirou followed through on his end of the deal, and so Rangiku and I took off around 3 p.m. I asked Toushirou for some money and the key to the house so Rangiku could take me to the grocery store—I thought it would be hilarious to actually buy some watermelon for Toushirou.

He didn't comply at first; but eventually he caved and gave me some money. We needed some stuff at the house anyway, so I agreed to go grab that as well.

Rangiku didn't wanna go shopping for _that_ kind of stuff; so I convinced her that we could go clothes shopping first and then grocery shopping.

I told her all about what happened with Hinamori at the hot springs since I hadn't had the chance. She was completely shocked.

"Does the Taichou know what she said?" She asked.

"Yeah, he knows all right. I feel terrible about the whole thing; she was such a good friend of his and I completely burst his bubble about her." I explained.

"Azumi-chan, it's better to tell him the truth rather than hiding the fact. It would've only hurt him more in the end. I know all too well how that feels," she replied.

"What happened?" I asked.

Rangiku told me all about Ichimaru Gin; the entire relationship between the two of them.

Although nothing above friendship ever happened between them, I could tell that not only was he dear to her; she had feelings for him. The necklace she wore around her neck was something he gave to her; if that doesn't prove it then I don't know what does.

I felt absolutely terrible for her.

Even more so because now I had a relationship and she didn't. Granted, she seemed ecstatic about Toushirou and I, but that didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't feeling extra lonely now. Rangiku was always concerned over my feelings rather than touching in on her own. She was my best friend; it was about damn time I started acting like it and started doing more for her.

"Hey, what are you doing for dinner tonight? I was thinking about cooking and would love it if you stopped by to hang out!" I smiled.

"Sure! That's sounds really nice, Azumi-chan!" She gleamed.

"Awesome! You can help me plan out dinner too if you want!"

"Sounds good to me!" She replied.

We finished up clothes shopping and went over to the market. By the time we were done with all the shopping, it was around 6:30 p.m.

We got to the house and once I put most of the stuff away, I started cooking. I decided on a veggie stir-fry with some beef since it was easy and couldn't really be _too_ messed up. Rangiku insisted on using some type of persimmon extract, but I insisted that we just stick to some soy sauce. She huffed and puffed; so I made a separate batch just for her and she settled.

Around 7:30ish, Toushirou finally came home.

"Well look who finally came home! Hungry, Tous—" I turned around to finish my sentence and didn't even get to.

Hinamori was standing next to him in the living room.

" _For the love of God, go freaking home!"_ I thought.

I cleared my throat.

"Hungry, _Taichou_?" I corrected myself.

"Hi, Hinamori, long time no see," I said with the politest sarcasm I could muster.

"Hi, Takashita-san, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou!" She smiled.

"Oh? You cooked, Takashita-san?" She gleamed, walking into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I did." I replied with a smile.

She looked at the food I made in the Wok pan and sniffed it.

"Smells great!" She grabbed the spoon.

"Can I try some?" She asked.

"Sure, go ahead," I replied.

She took a small spoonful and ate it. She chewed it and smiled once she swallowed it.

"It's just a little bit bland; but decent for the most part," she said after.

" _It's about to be a bit bloody in a minute,"_ I thought.

"O-Oh, well, I'm not very experienced in cooking," I replied, silently taking a deep breath.

"I'm sure it's great," Toushirou cut in, standing next to the two of us.

"Oh! Where are my manners! Please excuse me; it's great! Just maybe next time add a little more garlic or soy sauce," She added in.

"Noted." I replied flatly.

"Hinamori, go look at what you wanted to see; I'd like to get ready to sleep soon," Toushirou told her.

"Oh! Right! Sorry about that! I got distracted." She smiled sheepishly, scratching her head.

She wandered down the hall toward the spare room. Rangiku followed her while I tried to calm down in the kitchen.

Toushirou didn't say a word, but I could tell he wanted to say something.

"Whatcha lookin at, Hinamori-kun?" I heard Rangiku ask her.

I turned off the stove and walked toward my room.

"Wow! Look at this!" I heard Hinamori say.

I walked into the room and saw her sitting on the bed with the picture of Toushirou and I before Prom in her hand.

"These clothes look amazing! Why did you guys get dressed up like that?" She asked me.

I leaned against the doorframe.

"There was a formal school function that I insisted going to. Hitsugaya-Taichou had to accompany me in order for me to attend; we took a picture because we were all dressed up." I explained.

"Oh? What kind of function?" She asked.

"A popular school one." I answered sharply.

She was trying to frazzle me—that much about today was for sure. I started getting really impatient. I had half a mind to rip my precious photo out of her hands and backhand her in the face.

I decided to change the subject.

"So, what brings you by, Hinamori?" I asked.

She stopped looking at the picture and focused on me.

"I actually came by because I wanted to see about the window in this room. I saw a really lovely curtain the other day that I thought would brighten up the room, but I couldn't remember the exact size of the window! So I figured I'd come by and check it out. Shirou-chan insisted that he didn't need a curtain in here, but I figured that since you're currently staying here, I ought to at the very least make the room look nice." She got up and inspected the window.

I couldn't tell if she was implying that I made the room ugly, or if she actually saw a nice curtain. This is why I barely got along with other females; all the hidden lingo pissed me off. I decided to once again play coy.

"Oh, well that's very sweet of you. No worries however; I don't really need a curtain in here. No need to go spend your money on it," I replied.

"Nonsense! Now that I know the exact size I'll go ahead and buy it." She smiled.

"Well, I guess I'll be off! Shirou-chan said he wants to get ready for bed; see you later!" She bowed quickly and walked out of the room.

"See ya," Rangiku and I both said in unison.

As soon as I heard the front door shut, I immediately started mumbling all the curse words welling up my throat the entire time she was here.

I was fuming.

That girl seriously got to me worse than anyone else had in my entire life.

Maybe it was because she was the most serious threat to not only my existence, but to the person I cherished most. The worst part about it was that she didn't even resort to name-calling; it was all undertone jabs. She was smart; she knew that if she kept playing the game this way, I'd eventually lose my shit and ream her ass with nasty lingo and violence—then I'd be history.

I didn't say anything to Rangiku as I passed her. I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed some plates from the cupboard.

Toushirou came into the kitchen and took the plates from me.

"Here, I'll help you," he said.

I let him put the plates on the table while I brought all the food to the table.

"Don't let her ruin your night, Azumi-chan," Rangiku began, walking up to the table.

"You cooked a really nice meal for Taichou and I; let's focus on that. Plus, my meal is super specially made as well! I'm suuuuuper excited to eat it!" Rangiku grinned and sat down.

I took a few deep breaths and decided that Rangiku was right. I shouldn't let Hinamori get to me; she wasn't worth my time or patience. I decided the best thing to do was to stop thinking about it. Even though knowing how I operate, it most likely wasn't going to happen.

"Okay, fine. Let's eat! If you don't like it, let me know and I'll add more stuff to it!" I smiled.

-[×]-

Rangiku tried her very best throughout our meal to cheer me up, and she definitely did at least a little. I caught myself laughing from time to time, which was good. Rangiku thought her meal was the best in the world and shoved some down Toushirou's throat.

Note to self: Never buy anything persimmon related ever again _unless_ it's for a gag prank.

Toushirou flipped out; he hates persimmons with a passion evidently. I was nearly in tears when Rangiku pulled that stunt on him.

After that whole episode, Rangiku offered to help clean up, but I turned her away and she ended up leaving. She said that tonight she was actually going to go relax at home and go to sleep early—which was surprising.

When she left, I put on my headphones and started cleaning the kitchen while Toushirou went to his room. There actually wasn't any of my food left; we seriously dusted off everything. I picked up the dishes and put them in the sink. I wiped down the table and meal-prep areas, then started washing the dishes.

"Thank you for dinner," Toushirou said, taking out a towel from the drawer to help me dry the dishes.

I handed him the dish I just finished washing.

"You're welcome; I hope it was _okay_ at least." I replied.

"It was perfect," he said.

After a few seconds of silence, he continued with the question he'd been waiting to ask me all day.

"How are you holding up?"

It took me a moment before I could answer him. Something about _him_ specifically asking me that question just pulled on my heartstrings. I could feel a lump developing in my throat and did my best to make sure it stayed down.

"F-Fine," I mustered.

He set down the dish he just dried and picked up another one while I set another wet one down.

"It's okay to _not_ be fine; the things that she said to you are in every way not okay. If it weren't for the situation we're in, she wouldn't be allowed to be around you or me. Most of all, I wouldn't allow that kind of talk about you to leave her lips. It infuriates me to hear her pettiness against you." He said.

I clenched my teeth. The lump in my throat rose with every word he spoke. I turned off the water to take my time scrubbing one of the pans.

"I-It's fine, like I've said before; I'm used to it," I borderline mumbled.

"It isn't fine at all; you may be used to it, but that doesn't make it right. No one deserves to be picked on. A person is a person and deserves to be treated—"

"But that's the thing, Toushirou," I interrupted him, blankly trying to scrub the pan in my hands.

"I'm _not_ a person. No matter which way I look at it, no matter what excuse I'm trying to make for myself, Hinamori's right. I-I'm, I'm just a…"

My soapy hands stopped and clenched the sponge.

"A soul eating monster."

Its funny, I just turned off the water from the sink, yet opened up the valve for my eyes. The flood gates went down and I sobbed. I realized that the only reason she infuriated me earlier was because every single thing she said stabbed at my heart.

It was all true; all the things she said are things I've thought about on repeat since the day I found out.

And now on top of that, I expected everyone to treat me like a I was a normal person? After all the souls I'd consumed that were dwelling inside me? How can some freak-show like me expect anyone to treat me like an equal being?

And Toushirou? How much of a life-sucker can I be? I'm mooching off him for free; dragged him into protecting me; somehow encouraged him to have feelings for me, _and for what?_

He turned the faucet of the sink back on and took hold of my hands. He put them under the water and gently got the soap off them with his hands.

"Azumi, what if I told you that the Soul Society is full of monsters?" He asked.

I didn't answer; I just stared at our hands.

"If you think about it, with the powers the Shinigami possess along with taking other souls, we would be very similar to monsters. The difference you're focusing on is appearance, and control."

He turned off the water and dried my hands along with his.

"Granted, most of us appear as regular people, but there are a few of us that stick out more than others. Take Komamura and Kurotsuchi for instance; the two of them look irregular, but still people accept them. I'm sure they've both experienced others passing judgement, however, they've embraced who they truly are, and act as they would like to be treated; like people. If you consider yourself to be a monster, then that's all you will ever be. If you consider yourself to be a person, then you are a person. The issue that's affecting you the most is your control; the fact you have to consume souls bothers you. If you think about it, you survived sixteen years _without_ consuming a single soul. With that knowledge, I think it's very possible to figure out a way to get by again without feeding. In the meantime, until we can figure that out, you must do what is necessary in order to survive."

He put down the towel and wiped away a few tears from my face.

"It's okay to hurt from what others say; it isn't okay to let their comments rule your life, however. Don't let Hinamori or anyone for that matter ever convince you that you are lesser because of what you are. The way you act and treat others make you far superior to anyone who has the gall to put others down; remember that." he concluded.

I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into him. He held me tightly and kissed the top of my head as I snuggled up against him.

I was the luckiest female in the universe.

While some of the words still weighed on my heart; Toushirou lifted me back up in such an indescribable way. With him, it didn't matter what I was, it didn't matter what the consequences or unfortunate possibilities were.

He still loved, and cared for me.

To me…that's all that mattered.


	34. Chapter 34

"Daydream; I fell asleep amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day,"

A song I'd completely forgotten about played on my music player; I couldn't help but sing along.

Toushirou had gotten up early to make us breakfast, so I offered to clean up everything while he showered before going to work.

The song that played was definitely not the heavy metal genre that I normally listened to, but it was catchy and I liked the lyrics of the chorus. It was simple, and had a sweet undertone to it; it was nice to take a break from the usual stuff and let a lighter tune catch my attention.

Some of the lyrics along with the name of the song— _Daydream in Blue—_ reminded me of Toushirou. He in general reminded me of the colors blue and green, and whenever I actually daydreamed, it was always about him. A small grin spread across my face as I thought of the white-haired male I was head-over-heels in love with.

The ending chorus came up, and I couldn't help singing bits and pieces of it while swaying to the tune as I finished drying up the dishes.

"Daydream; I dream of you amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, such a beautiful day,"

Two arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me close right after I'd finished singing.

I stumbled forward and gasped since the action scared me, and Toushirou nudged his head against the back of mine.

"I caught you," he said, the tease in his voice ever apparent.

I reached up and pulled out my headphones.

"You jerk! You scared me!" I whined as I took another dish.

"Sorry," he said, squeezing me just a little before letting me go.

I pushed him teasingly in revenge, and he started taking the dishes that were dried.

"Daydream, huh?" He asked.

I blushed.

This is what I get for getting caught; just how much of my terrible singing did he hear? I decided to try and smooth talk my way through the teasing sure to follow.

"Uh, huh, amid the flowers," I chuckled.

"Oh really?" He responded as he pulled open the cupboard to put away the plates.

"Yep! That song kind of reminds me of you," I replied.

"Hmm," he responded as he shut the cupboard.

"I daydream in blue, whenever I think of you," I grinned at him, no doubt a blush spread across my cheeks.

Although I was still a little shy about a lot of physical contact, I planted a kiss on his cheek before wrapping my arms around him; giggling at the pun he didn't understand.

He chuckled and pulled me closer.

"And you tell me _I'm_ the smooth talker?" He asked.

"You know it!" I grinned up at him.

I kissed him again, then poked his stomach and ran away giggling.

-[×]-

A few days went by, and it was already Friday again.

The whole week consisted of the usual stuff; paperwork, training, Hinamori throwing undercover blows at me, eating, and sleeping. Hinamori would come by at least twice a day—sometimes even three—to make casual conversation with Toushirou. Whenever I would get brought into the conversation, there was always something about how odd I am, or how I'm a moocher.

After a while I got fed up with it and just cranked my music player whenever she was around. The more I listened to her, the more likely I would punch her. Granted, I actually _wanted_ to listen to the stupid words coming out of her, but the fact that I couldn't actually retaliate is why I opted to not listen to her at all.

So, I'd ask for extra paperwork, crank up the heavy metal, and zone out. The only part that really sucked is when she showed up to a couple of my training sessions—I didn't need her knowing what I was capable of. I needed an ace up my sleeve in case it ever came down to it. So, due to her presence, I limited my training and only focused on improving certain moves.

She came a few days ago to the house and brought over the curtains she talked about before. I straight up thought she was lying about the actual curtains and just wanted to spy on me, but I guess she actually proved me wrong. They were red colored with a thin, black layer of sheer material over it. It actually did kind of complement the room, but I wasn't about to admit that aloud.

On a brighter note, every day that passed, I grew closer to Toushirou. I felt like we were starting over entirely almost; it was as if I was meeting a completely new person. I loved every moment of it.

Now with more conversation and complete honesty without fear of rejection, we started getting to know each other's true self. Granted, everything was still in baby-steps, but I was grateful of it. If we were to progress any faster, I think I'd probably just freak out and bolt. But—knowing what I know now—if that _were_ to happen and I did freak, Toushirou would come after me and make everything right.

It was already after lunch and the three of us were back at the office.

Surprisingly enough, we were almost caught up with all the paperwork that piled up when we were in the World of the Living. Toushirou was happy about it, even though he didn't show it. Rangiku of course wanted to celebrate, but of course Toushirou shot her right down with the idea. She knew he would, but she always kept high hopes; that was just Rangiku.

"But Taichooooou," she dragged out.

"For the last time, _no_. You can go celebrate at the bar when you're off the clock." Toushirou grumbled, not even bothering to look up at her.

I snickered and kept writing away on the paperwork I'd been given. The two of them acting this way literally made me happy. Toushirou's frustration was hilarious, and Rangiku's puppy-dog whining was even better. If anything ever happened to these two, I don't know what I'd do.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

My first thought was Hinamori, so I immediately started taking out my music player to drown her out.

"Excuse me, we're entering," an unfamiliar voice said.

I cocked an eye and looked over at the door.

Before Toushirou could even reply, the door slammed open and 3 guard-looking messengers stormed in. 2 of them came straight at me and pulled me up.

"H-Hey! What the Hell?" I shouted.

"What's the meaning of this?" Toushirou asked, already on his feet with Rangiku.

"By order of the Soutaichou, Takashita Azumi is to be escorted to an undisclosed containment facility." He handed a piece of paper to Toushirou and slightly bowed.

"What! Why?" I shouted.

No one said anything.

They dragged me against the floorboards and I immediately stomped my feet against the ground.

"I know how to walk, damn it! Be freaking civil!" I sneered, doing a slight tap-dance for sarcastic emphasis.

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku called, panicked.

"You guys!" I frowned, looking at the two of them.

"We'll get to the bottom of it, don't worry, Takashita," Toushirou said, trying to keep as formal as possible in front of the guards.

I stared straight into him as the guards dragged me through the doorway. His eyes were stern, but underneath was worry and determination.

The door slammed shut, and they started pulling me down the hall.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

Immediately I read over the report in my hand.

"Taichou, what does it say?" Matsumoto asked in a panic at my side.

"From here forward, Takashita Azumi is to be imprisoned for treacherous intent. Hitsugaya-Taichou is officially relieved of supervision duty at this time. All Taichou along with Matsumoto-Fukutaichou are to be assembled in one hour." I read aloud.

"Treacherous intent? She's been with you and I this whole time! What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Matsumoto shouted.

"Taichou!"

"I know, Matsumoto, I know. I'm just as irritated as you are. Right now there's nothing we can do about it. We have to wait it out until the Taichou meeting in an hour." I told her.

"What are you going to say?" She asked.

"The truth. Azumi isn't a traitor and hasn't done anything wrong. The only issue is why after a month has passed she's only now being accused." I stated.

I tried to wrap my head around the whole situation. What could've possibly happened in such a short amount of time that the Soutaichou would react this way? As far as our relationship toward each other, we've kept it completely between the two of us. There hasn't been any display of it in public or even with Matsumoto although she's the only one that knows about it. It couldn't be that she…

"Matsumoto, you haven't said anything, have you?" I asked.

"Absolutely not. Even the past times I've been drunk I haven't told a soul! And even if I did, the only people I actually hang out with beside the two of you are Hisagi and Izuru; they both like Azumi-chan and wouldn't cause trouble for her!" She explained.

The only other person that I could think of would be…

"Hinamori." I concluded aloud.

"Hinamori…" Matsumoto repeated.

"You don't think that…"

I didn't respond.

Could it really be that Hinamori went this far? But what proof would she even have? Azumi and I have pointedly kept our distance from each other around her ever since she threatened Azumi. I've made it a point to act as normal as possible around her even when she acted childish toward Azumi. There was no reason why she should be doing this _if_ it is in fact her. It's one thing for Hinamori to threaten, but it's another thing for her to actually act upon it.

I slammed the paper against my desk in frustration. It better not have been her. I swear if it was…

"Taichou," Matsumoto slunk down onto the couch.

"What will we do if…" she put her hand over her face, and leaned against the couch.

I didn't want her to finish that sentence.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

Yoru no Shedo was practically ripped out of my ears and I screeched from the contact. They frisked me and took off any and all items that weren't clothes.

Once we left the 10th Division, the guards stopped and took her and everything else, then blindfolded me before progressing. I mean, it seemed highly unnecessary; but so was dragging me around when I have two capable legs. One of them ended up picking me up and we flash-stepped out of there. About a minute passed before we finally stopped, and then they dragged me by my arms again for a few minutes.

Finally, they stopped with me. They took off my blindfold and ended up pushing me forward; it took everything I had to catch myself from falling.

I opened my eyes as soon as I heard the door slam behind me. The room was completely square, with no eye level windows at all. The only source of light was a small window at the very center of the ceiling. There was nothing in the room except a toilet, a bed that didn't look comfortable, and a sink with a bar of soap—I guess drying wet hands was something for chumps.

I walked underneath the barred window and looked up to see the light blue sky above me; completely unwavering. It was like staring into a picture frame of just the color blue; no clouds, no bit of sun, just blue. I sat down underneath it and crossed my arms.

What the Hell made now such a great time to imprison me? I haven't done anything at all! If anything, I've been helping out at the 10th Division; wouldn't that be considered a good deed? I've minded my 'pee's and que's' with just about everyone and haven't stepped out of line. Even with Hinamori! I let her have complete, uninterrupted, and undivided attention from Toushirou ever since she threatened me; she shouldn't be pissed off at that!

Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if she just wanted to get rid of me _just_ because. But beside me, what would happen to Toushirou and Rangiku? Would they go down with me? They better not be dragged down into this; it'd be a pretty messed up system in the Soul Society if so. Maybe the other Taichou that know me like Kyoraku and Ukitake could stick up for me.

All I knew was, I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my gut about this. And something else that bothered me; where the Hell did they put Yoru no Shedo? I've hardly taken off my earrings ever since I've got her; would she be okay on her own? I mean, she wouldn't like…die or anything…right?

I tried calling her mentally, but to no avail. Luckily, I was still able to sense her. She wasn't close, but she wasn't far either, so I guess that was a good thing.

Now, to sit here and wait…great.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

"This meeting is hereby in session." The Soutaichou proclaimed.

All the Taichou were assembled, and Azumi was hand-cuffed and held onto by two guards in the corner of the room. They had her mouth stuffed and covered so that she couldn't speak, and made sure she was watching the whole scene in front of her.

It was absolutely infuriating to see her treated like that, but I had to show an unfazed demeanor so that I didn't make things worse.

"I've summoned all of you here to discuss the latest sentence passed on Takashita Azumi," he began.

"Getting straight to the point, I've received evidence from an anonymous source of Takashita Azumi performing treacherous actions. Upon reviewing the evidence, I immediately ordered for her detainment and have determined that she will be executed."

I could feel Matsumoto's panic radiating from where she stood behind me and it was definitely not helping. Losing our cool in this situation would only cause worse consequence; she needed to cool off.

"Acts of treachery? Surely Azumi-chan wouldn't do—"

"That's enough. My judgement is final." The Soutaichou interrupted Kyoraku.

If he was being this serious, the evidence must be something incredibly incriminating. But what evidence would he possibly have? She didn't do anything!

"However. Although my judgment is final about Takashita Azumi's sentence; the evidence has brought another issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. Hitsugaya-Taichou, please step forward." He ordered.

All heads turned to me and I immediately felt the pressure of everyone's gaze. I didn't flinch, I merely did what was ordered and stood before the Soutaichou. His narrow eyes inspected me, and I looked directly at him without showing any form of succumb.

He rose his hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant, his Fukutaichou appeared with a remote control and some type of electronic device on a clothed tray. The Soutaichou rested his hand on his cane and proceeded.

"What you are about to hear is the evidence I received earlier today. This evidence proves Takashita Azumi's betrayal along with a surprising new threat. Please play the recording." He ordered.

His Fukutaichou grabbed the electronic device and pushed one of the buttons. Immediately the device sounded off.

" _ **What do you think this is, my first rodeo? Of course I have everything under control."**_

It was Azumi's voice…

" _ **Well, although the information that I've received is already what Aizen-Sama has informed me of; I'm working on getting some more**_ _interesting_ _ **information."**_

_**Brief pause.** _

" _ **Well of course I'm getting it out of that white-haired brat! I've got him so wrapped around my finger that if I said 'jump' he'd say 'how high?' kid's such a sap! Funny what a little bit of affection could to do to someone," Azumi laughed.**_

_**Brief pause.** _

" _ **Trust me, I'll be getting all the stupid Shinigami's plans out of him. I already got some pretty useful info out of him. On top of that, he's pretty much already on my side—or ours I should say. Hell, by the time I'm through with him he'll be begging to come back to Hueco Mundo with me like a dog with it's tail between it's legs. Hell, maybe Aizen-Sama would want him on our side!"**_

_**Brief pause.** _

" _ **No? Don't think so? Well, I'll just kill him when it comes down to it then; I mean, it's not like I don't know where he sleeps!" Azumi laughed again.**_

_**Brief pause, then a shuffling sound.** _

" _ **Shit," she whispered.**_

_**Something slapped shut.** _

The Soutaichou raised his hand and his Fukutaichou pressed another button, turning off the recording.

A heavy, tense silence fell upon the room.

I was speechless.

I could not believe what I just heard.

It was like someone threw a wrench in the cogs that allowed my brain to process rational thought.

Before anyone said anything, the Soutaichou continued.

"As proof of her claims toward controlling Hitsugaya-Taichou, please take a look at the following images."

The Fukutaichou proceeded to pick up the remote, and pointed it behind the Soutaichou, clicking one of the buttons.

In front of everyone was a picture of Azumi and I sitting on the couch in my living room with my arms around her, holding her close.

My eyes widened.

The next picture was of the two of us sleeping in my bed.

My stomach dropped.

And the last one was of the two of us kissing on the couch.

Words cannot describe just how embarrassed I was at that moment.

I was like a stone statue that cracked right down the middle. It was like gravity was so intensified that my lungs couldn't operate correctly.

The Soutaichou raised his hand and the images disappeared.

No one said a word.

The only noise was Azumi's muffled outburst and struggled movements in the background followed by harsh whispers from her guards.

The Soutaichou cleared his throat and tapped his cane.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, how do you plead?" He asked me.

I didn't answer.

For the first time in my life, I couldn't think of any possible reply.

Once a few moments passed, the Soutaichou continued.

"Where does your allegiance lie, Hitsugaya Toushirou?" He asked.

The fact that he said my full name already implied that he thought I was a traitor along with Azumi. How was I supposed to get myself out of this one? The pictures would be difficult to explain, but nonetheless be _explainable._ The recording was now the issue.

Was that really, truly, Azumi?

"Your answer, Hitsugaya Toushirou," the Soutaichou commanded.

"With the Soul Society, as Taichou of Squad 10." I answered immediately.

"Is that so? Then what do you have to say for this new evidence?" He shot back.

I looked up at him without any lack of intensity in my gaze and replied immediately.

"In regards to the recording, this is the first time I've heard it. I find it hard to believe that the voice in the recording in fact belongs to Takashita Azumi—"

"Of course you'd find it hard to believe! When you're so love-struck you would no doubt side with her innocence!" Kurotsuchi interrupted.

"Regardless of what it appears, Takashita Azumi hasn't been left without Matsumoto-Fukutaichou or my supervision; I find it hard to believe that she would be able to actually have communication with anyone from outside of the Soul Society,"

"Unless you happen to be in on the ordeal," Kurotsuchi shot back at me.

"You're more than welcome to search my residence to find a device capable of contacting Hueco Mundo or the World of the Living, Kurotsuchi-Taichou." I shot back.

"How do you even know that was her on the recording? There are plenty of ways one could falsely impersonate—"

"The fact that you're trying to prove your innocence in this immensely proves that you're in fact trying to hide that you are not in allegiance with us—"

"Hold on, Kurotsuchi-Taichou," Kyoraku interrupted.

"If you were in this situation, you would no doubt defend yourself as well."

"You're correct; in any _other_ situation however. With all of the evidence pointing at the allegiance with the enemy, it's foolish to even try in this situation. The facts are the facts; Hitsugaya Toushirou is in league with Aizen Sousuke. He is under the control of Takashita Azumi, gathering information for a full scale attack." Kurotsuchi replied.

"I don't believe that to be true; your implication that he is under Takashita Azumi's control. Every single one of us has a right to expression emotion; it isn't fair to use Hitsugaya-Taichou's connection with her to automatically deem him against us." Ukitake spoke up.

"I agree with Ukitake-Taichou; although Hitsugaya-Taichou may in fact be infatuated with Takashita Azumi, that doesn't necessarily mean he has betrayed us. In regards to Takashita Azumi; if the recording proves to be true, then as unfortunate as it is, it would seem that she is not on our side. However, in the recording, she said that she didn't receive any useful information—"

"Incorrect, Unohana-Taichou," Kurotsuchi interrupted with a finger raised.

"She implied that at first, but then said she _did_ get 'useful' information out of him. And let's not forget that she referred to him as being on _their_ side."

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, what have you told her?" Komamura suddenly spoke up.

"I haven't told her anything. No relevant information about any plans against Aizen. Every day we have sat in my office filling out paperwork, training in the 10th Division's training grounds, and then going home late and going directly to sleep. There almost literally has been no time for me to go into anything other than light conversation before going to sleep." I replied.

"Yet out of that short amount of time you have a moment to express affection toward her," Kurotsuchi spat at me.

I clenched my fists. He was getting to me more than I should've let him.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou is telling the truth! Takashita Azumi has done nothing but help the two of us catch up on all of the work we've missed from our trip to the World of the Living! Hitsugaya-Taichou continued performing his duties as the Taichou of Squad 10 _even on his days off_ in order to catch up! Takashita Azumi has repeatedly offered her assistance to him and myself even when she wasn't required to! She has never asked to be left alone, or to go run an errand by herself; she's always respected the fact that she has been given an opportunity to prove her worth to us here in the Seireitei! She has remained near myself or the Taichou at all times. That recording is fake; Takashita Azumi and Hitsugaya-Taichou are both innocent!" Matsumoto proclaimed.

"The question of Takashita Azumi's allegiance is no longer in question; my decision of her fate is final and I will not discuss any more of the subject." The Soutaichou replied sternly.

"If this were merely a matter of affection alone, this situation would be handled in a different manner. The issue here is that this affection has caused Hitsugaya Toushirou to abandon his ties with the Soul Society and Squad 10. As a Taichou, all orders given to you are absolute. The order was to supervise Takashita Azumi and report any and all information regarding her. His affection toward her has clouded his judgement and caused him to falter meeting expectations for his assignment. Not only has he failed this assignment, but now he has shown me that he is not responsible enough to keep his work professional. It would appear to me that Hitsugaya Toushirou is not worthy of keeping his title as Taichou of Squad 10." The Soutaichou concluded.

It was like time stood still in the moment the Soutaichou finished his sentence. The entire room's atmosphere was uncomfortable, awkward, and completely tense.

Suddenly, there was movement in the background.

"Hey! Shinigami!"

All heads turned to look at Azumi.

The two guards were trying to keep her in submission, but she constantly kicked and squirmed even at weapon-point. She spat out the remainder of the cloth covering her mouth, and took a deep breath.

"Do I even need to be here? You guys are definitely wasting my time here!" Azumi shouted angrily.

The guards finally used a Bakudo on her, but she was still able to move her head freely. They reached for the cloth to stuff back in her mouth, and as she huffed and grunted, the Soutaichou cleared his throat.

"Stop." The Soutaichou ordered.

The two guards let go of the cloth and moved back.

"Yeah, that's right, listen to your master, you dogs!" She said with a grunt.

She looked over in our direction, not making any eye contact with me.

"You know, you guys are a piece of work. The detective act is hysterical—don't get me wrong, but it doesn't make it any less annoying. But hey, tell me, who was it that was able to _catch me_?" She asked.

What was she...did she just…confess?

"So you admit that the recording was in fact you?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Does it even really matter at this point? Grandpa over there already decided that I'm gonna die anyway. Your question is irrelevant." She chuckled.

Soi Fon suddenly stepped out of line.

"Yoruichi-Sama trusted you! She put her own life on the line so that you could have a chance! You lied to her this whole time?" Soi Fon shouted, fists clenched with emotion that was no doubt pent up throughout this entire time.

Azumi smirked.

"You can believe what you want to believe." She replied back.

Who the Hell was this person?

Azumi never acted this way; this wasn't the Azumi that I grew to love. My heart felt like it was being torn ever so slowly; as if taking a piece of paper and taking your time to hear the tearing sound as it shreds in half. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You..you—!" Soi Fon began to step forward, only to be stopped by Unohana's outstretched arm.

"What do you know, _traitor_?" Komamura asked.

The way he emphasized that word panged my heart. It couldn't be true. She couldn't be working for Aizen. She just couldn't be…

Azumi snickered before replying.

"Tell ya what—I'll tell you the truth if you tell me who it was that caught me. Deal?"

"We don't negotiate with fugitives," Kurotsuchi replied.

"Well then I guess everything dies with me, _Checkers_." She cackled.

"Why you insignificant mag—"

The Soutaichou tapped his cane loudly and everyone stopped. The room went silent and our eyes drifted to the Soutaichou.

He took a moment, eyes focused on Azumi.

"Hinamori-Fukutaichou provided the evidence." He responded.

My eyes widened.

Hinamori really took it this far.

It was really her. She was spying on us this whole time, just like Azumi said she was.

Azumi's expression was one that I couldn't make out. A few seconds went by, and finally she smirked and laughed manically.

"What a _peach_ , that Hinamori." She laughed again.

"Well, a deal's a deal. Here's the truth,"

She looked at me.

Her brown orbs were focused and borderline angry. The longer I gazed into them, the more of a sad emotion I was able to pick up. She looked away and to the Soutaichou.

"The truth is, I'm not going to tell you anything about what Aizen has planned. He keeps that under wraps with Gin, Tousen and the Espada. I happen to owe Hitsugaya Toushirou, so I will tell you the truth regarding him. I lead him on entirely. One of my wonderful abilities as a Hollow is emotional deceit; I made him fall for me in any effort to get information out of him. But, the little Taichou takes his job _far_ too seriously to tell me anything important about it. He's told me nothing." She smirked.

"But you said to whoever you spoke to that he gave you useful information!" Kurotsuchi shouted angrily.

"Woah, calm down, Checkers! When you work for someone like Aizen, if you don't produce results, you're more than likely to get your head chopped off! I saved my own ass by telling them I had info. I thought since you were a scientist you were supposed to be smart! Way to put two and two together!" She chuckled.

Something was wrong.

I didn't feel like she was telling the truth.

Her tone of voice suddenly seemed strained.

The two of them threw comments back and forth at each other until the Soutaichou had enough.

"Takashita Azumi, you're implying that the photographic evidence of Hitsugaya-Taichou and yourself are the result of your control?" He asked.

"Yup. That's right." She replied.

"And you claim Hitsugaya-Taichou has told you nothing?" He asked again.

"Yup." She answered.

"Take her away." The Soutaichou commanded.

The two guards released the Bakudo and yanked her to her feet.

She looked at me and smiled.

Her face was completely etched in gloom and she strained to smile at me. Her eyes were glossy, as if she was about to start crying.

"Goodbye, Toushirou…"

She closed her eyes and forced the biggest, determined grin she could muster, then turned her head to walk out the door.

Once the door shut behind them, the Soutaichou tapped his cane on the floor to regain everyone's attention.

"With the confession of Takashita Azumi, for the time being Hitsugaya Toushirou will keep his title as Taichou of Squad 10. Hitsugaya-Taichou's residence will be searched for any of Takashita Azumi's equipment. After more investigation of Takashita Azumi, I will inform all of you of the final date of her execution. Until further notice, this meeting is adjourned."


	35. Chapter 35

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I unlocked the door and let in the Soutaichou along with his hand-picked search squad into my house.

Immediately they turned over every single object in my house. I stood against the front door frame with my arms crossed next to the Soutaichou.

Several minutes went by, and the Soutaichou decided to wander about. He looked around the living room area and the kitchen; mostly taking in how my house was set up it seemed. He walked over toward the guest room and disappeared from my sight. At that point, I didn't care about anything going on.

All I could think about was Azumi.

This hurt more than anything I'd ever experienced. Hinamori's betrayal was absolutely nothing compared to this.

Why…why would she do that? And when? When did she possibly even have the time to get correspond with Aizen's henchmen? Was everything fake? All of those emotions she had—all the ones we shared—they were all an act?

The night I confessed my feelings to her, everything we felt, that moment where the two of us were able to breathe easily and admire each other; was all a lie?

One of the men walked into the guest room where the Soutaichou was, and I could hear him reporting that the crew found nothing. Multiple footsteps approached me, and one by one the men walked past me out the door. The Soutaichou was the last one remaining.

He walked up to me, and I looked up at him. He held a picture frame in his hand, and took another look at it before speaking.

"She seemed like an intellectual young lady,"

He held the picture frame out toward me and I took it.

"What an unfortunate situation."

Without waiting for a reply, the Soutaichou walked past me and out the door.

Was that supposed to be his version of sympathy?

I stared at the picture within the frame. It was the two of us on the night of her school dance.

Although everything was hectic at the time; I enjoyed that night and will never be able to forget it. She looked so beautiful; when I first saw her at the bottom of the staircase that night, I was speechless.

She was so shy and embarrassed about how she looked, yet her modesty made her even more attracting. That was one of the first times in my life I felt so entranced by anyone; it was the first time I had ever been at a loss for words. It was nerve-wrecking when Matsumoto made us stand so closely for the picture; the best I could muster was just a straight, unamused facial expression.

And then later in the evening, my jealousy got the better of me and I rashly made contact again with her by dancing. Her excited, child-like expression when she successfully twirled was something that I didn't know how to handle. I was so confused about everything back then, but now looking back on it, I realize that I was incredibly lost in bliss when I looked at her.

I gripped the picture firmly—when did my hand start to shake?

I walked back to the guest room and put the picture face down on top of the desk it previously stood.

I sat on the bed and hunched forward, elbows on my knees, and head propped up with my hand.

How could she do this to me?

After everything we've been through together, she chose Aizen's side? After he killed her parents right in front of her? It wasn't right—it couldn't be right; it didn't add up at all.

There were two tapping sounds against the doorframe of the guest room I was in.

I was so lost in everything, I didn't even hear anyone approaching.

I looked up to see Matsumoto standing there—a shy, downtrodden aura in her features. I looked into her glossy eyes; she couldn't even muster her usual smile.

"Hey," she began softly.

"The front door was open so I let myself in."

She walked over to me and sat on the bed next to me. I clasped my hands together and looked forward, staring at the face down picture frame on the desk.

"I'm not going to ask if you're okay because I know you aren't. But what I will say, is that I'm here to talk it out with you. Anything you need to get off your chest, I'm here for you. Not as your Fukutaichou, but as your friend. I've been through this before so I…" she trailed off and I looked over at her.

She looked down toward the ground, and I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know how you feel," she concluded, wiping a few tears that escaped from her eyes.

Seeing Rangiku cry made me want to cry along with her. This is now the second time this has happened to her in less than a year; I could only imagine the pain she must be going through.

I put a hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Matsumoto," I said softly.

I stood up and walked over to the window. I looked at the curtains Hinamori installed and instantly became infuriated.

I ripped them off and threw them on the ground.

Hinamori must have felt pretty damn accomplished; I wondered how she went about it. How did she get that recording? When was she in here to take those photographs? She's such a fool; I'm sure her thought process was that if Azumi was out of the picture, she would be able to have me all to herself—what an immature child. But even so, the fact that she caught Azumi's confession shed some light on me along with everyone else. I wasn't necessarily thrilled about her motives behind it however.

"Taichou," Matsumoto called.

I looked back at her; the anger still apparent on my face.

"Do you really think Azumi-chan is working for Aizen?" She asked.

I looked back out the window.

"I didn't until she confessed to it." I responded.

"It just doesn't feel right. That wasn't our Azumi-chan in there—"

"Then who the Hell was it, Matsumoto? Answer me that." I shot back more harshly than I should have.

"This isn't right—this isn't right at all! Azumi-chan has always been so kind; she wouldn't do anything to harm us! She's only ever wanted _what was best for us_ and everyone else!" She gripped the comforter in anger.

"That couldn't be her!" She choked out, holding back tears.

I turned back around and shoved my hands into my pockets as I gazed out the window in frustration.

"She's only wanted what's best for us…" I repeated.

For some reason, that sentence kept swirling around in my head. Instantly the thought of Azumi's last facial expression came to mind. Her eyes welled up with tears; a feeling of sadness behind her grin.

She's only wanted what's best for us...

That was it.

I stood there, realization washing over me like the waves of the ocean crashing against a boulder.

"Matsumoto, that's it!"

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

As soon as I was left alone in my confinement cell, I finally let out the violent sobs I had been holding down for the entire meeting.

This was it.

My execution was final.

There was no going back at this point; I was a complete, emotional wreck.

I thought that maybe with all the help I'd given Toushirou and Rangiku it would at least show that I was pulling my weight while I was here. I thought that maybe with the way I treated others, and good demeanor that it would actually make a difference. I thought that I would finally have a chance to be with everyone and help them take out Aizen. But with one little thing, everything completely exploded.

At least now I knew who the culprit was and I could die in peace.

The only question left was, how on earth was she able to fake my voice like that? It was almost spot on; even _I_ thought it was me for a second.

Needless to say, I was impressed that she was able to drag out all of that information and make it seem convincing. It saddened me that a person would seriously have ill-will against someone else the way Hinamori did, but I guess that's life.

My only regret now is that I wouldn't get the chance to kill Aizen myself. Ultimately, he is the reason why everything in my life had been a shit-show. My parents death, my freak-of-nature self, the danger he constantly threatened amongst the remainder of people I care about, was there no end to this guy?

I hope he suffers just as much as I have; I hope that he gets what's coming to him for all the evil things he's done. It's a damn shame that I wouldn't be able to witness that.

A few hours definitely went by, and the room grew dark. I laid down on the bed and stared up at a crack on the ceiling until my eyes grew tired.

I woke up to a hollow, ceramic sound hitting the concrete, and looked over to see a plate of food as the door shut. I got up and ate it—it wasn't the best food ever, but still, it was something.

I wondered how Toushirou and Rangiku were doing. They both must be pretty devastated—especially Toushirou. I couldn't think of any other way that I could save him other than playing the bad guy; if my death was already assured as the Soutaichou said, then the least I could do was not bring him down with me.

Remembering that look on his face…

I should've never confessed to him. This whole situation could've been avoided if I hadn't have said anything; I'm such an moron. At least now he's off the hook—I just hope I was convincing enough.

A few hours passed, and suddenly the door opened.

Three guards walked in. Two stood next to the door, and one stood in front of me.

They asked questions regarding Aizen and his goons, expecting me to answer immediately. Since I literally had no idea what Aizen had in store for them anyway, I denied all their questions.

After a lot of frustration, the guard asking the questions made an announcement.

"Takashita Azumi, your execution date has been set for two weeks from today. That is all."

The three of them exited the room, and slammed the door shut behind them.

Another night passed, and then another. The more I thought about the situation, the more my mind focused on the fact that I was going to be executed. And the more my mind focused on it, the more numb I became.

I sat underneath the square window and stared up at the dark bluish-black night sky above me.

It was like I couldn't feel anything; like my mind merely occupied a lifeless puppet of a body.

I couldn't cry.

I couldn't smile.

I couldn't process any rational thought.

The only thing I could do was move while my mind remained completely blank.

How many hours had I been sitting in this same spot? The sky had long ago changed color, and this room was almost dark as pitch again.

I could feel myself drifting off to sleep. My head hit the concrete floor beneath me, and when I blinked the room was suddenly bright again.

I looked around and saw some food on a plate by the door.

It was odd, I didn't feel hungry at all. I left the food there on the plate and laid back down; staring up at the blue above me.

There was something so entrancing about it; I just couldn't bring myself to look away from it.

After what seemed like seconds, the light blue turned into a dark shade of the color, and the door opened behind me.

I looked at my shadow cast against the yellow light on the wall by the bed. A larger shadow took over mine while an unfamiliar voice spouted off sounds I didn't respond to.

With my silence, the shadow receded until mine was the only one visible again. The yellow light disappeared along with my shadow.

The room grew dark again, and with another blink, it was bright again.

The yellow light from the door opening came again, and I watched as my shadow was engulfed yet again by a larger one. Footsteps came toward me, and someone shook me violently.

It was like I was a limp noodle in their hands; my body shook and swayed in whatever direction gravity took it. They shouted at me, but I couldn't really process anything they were saying.

Eventually, they let go of me and I sunk down to the floor as they got up and left.

I looked up again at the blue square above, and it immediately evolved again into its darker shade.

' _You're such a pain in the ass, you know that?'_

My eyes grew heavy, and I lost all consciousness.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

The past week since the meeting had been restless.

I couldn't get any sleep in now that I knew what the situation was. Azumi lied to everyone for Matsumoto's safety along with my own. She cleverly was able to figure out that Hinamori was behind the recording and photographs by playing the enemy—which now meant that there was no reason for her execution.

Ever since it hit me, I've been working non-stop to prepare a rescue operation. I'd tossed around a few ideas with Matsumoto, and have come up with a solution. The only issue at the moment was finding out exactly where the Soutaichou had her hidden.

It wasn't in the Shrine of Penitence like it had been for Kuchiki Rukia, nor at Azumi's previous cell. The Soutaichou had announced her execution for a week and a day from now, so I was running out of time.

Another issue I worked on was exactly how I was to get Hinamori to confess. Simply asking her was completely idiotic; there had to be a way that I could get her to leak it out. Once I get that out of her, Azumi's name would be partially cleared.

It would be a little more difficult to explain that her 'confession' was a complete lie to save Matsumoto and I, but it would be a start to say the least.

It was late, and the sun had gone down several hours ago.

I was still at the office, thinking and planning on everything. I was so incredibly tired; I hadn't slept for more than an hour here and there since the entire ordeal at the meeting. Matsumoto was right; I needed as much sleep as possible now if we were going to pull this off.

I grabbed my belongings and left the office. I went home, showered, and laid down in bed.

I felt so incredibly lonely at that moment I laid down on my mattress.

I missed the way Azumi tossed around to get comfortable until she finally faded off to sleep. Her light snoring was ridiculously soothing to me at this point, and I yearned to hear it. I let my sadness wash over me for a moment. It was strange; the fact that another individual could make one so weak.

I had to stop thinking about it; I needed to sleep.

I closed my eyes and thought about the time we went to the carnival in the World of the Living.

Azumi was so happy…that smile she wore proudly…warmed me to my core.

Finally, I was able to drift off into sleep.

I was scared awake by a presence on top of me.

My eyes shot open to a familiar body structure, but before I could say anything; she grabbed both my hands and held them above my head—straddling herself on top of me.

"A-Azumi? How are—"

She pushed my legs together using her own, and cut off my sentence with her lips.

This had to be a dream.

Her kiss was completely different than it had ever been before. Before, it was completely innocent; it was focused, careful, shy, and even a little scared—more controlled for lack of a better description.

This kiss was seductive, ravenous, lustful and rough—completely without any sign of restraint or fear.

In honesty; it definitely was arousing, but something was wrong. This seemed too out of character for Azumi—even if this was a dream.

I kept up with the kiss, but I couldn't get over that it didn't feel right.

I could feel Azumi smirking as she deepened the kiss.

She took back one of her hands while holding both of my hands with her other. Her freehand started creeping down toward my pants, and I didn't know how to react.

Did she seriously want to go to _that_ level? She was always so shy about the little physical contact we had, yet now she was trying to get even _more_ physical?

She paused at the waistline of my pants; wedging a few of her fingers underneath it and caressing my hip bone. She nibbled on my lips, and slipped in her tongue, completely catching me off guard.

Something just wasn't right about this.

Even for a dream, something was off and uncomfortable about this whole situation. Although everything going on was completely entrancing; I couldn't just let her do this.

Before she could go any further, I yanked out one of my hands and gently took her hand at my waist.

She pulled back from the kiss, and hovered over my lips.

"What's wrong, Toushirou? You'd be lying if you said you want me to stop," She whispered.

I let go of her hand and gently held her head; placing my palm against her cheek.

"Azumi, I don't think that it's the right time for that yet; I don't think either of us are ready," I answered.

So part of that was a lie. I definitely could venture there with her—but I wouldn't feel good about it. The timing just wasn't right for it.

She chuckled and put her hand over mine on her cheek. Suddenly, the gentle placement turned into a harsh death-grip and she slammed my hand back above my head.

Her chuckle turned into a convoluted laugh that I didn't recognize; her tone getting deeper with each breath.

She suddenly slit my wrist.

It was at that moment when I felt _actual pain_ that I realized this wasn't a dream.

As I winced, she rubbed some of my blood on her finger.

"You know, I can see why Azumi's so in love with you," she paused, slowly pulling her head back.

That voice…

She licked her finger and turned to look at me.

"You taste absolutely delicious!"

Black eyes with red irises stared into me; a maliciously hungry smirk stretched across her face.

"Imuza," I breathed out.

"Tell me, Toushirou, does your soul taste as good as your body?"

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

"You're pitiful."

I opened my eyes to see Imuza's face staring directly into mine.

She was on all fours hunched over me; her facial expression angry with a huge tinge of disgust. She had both of my arms pinned above my head with only one of her hands holding mine down. She had her shins over my legs, and when I tried to wiggle free she merely laughed in my face.

"What is it now, Imuza?" I snarled.

"This isn't a very comfortable way to wake up, I'll have you know!"

She laughed and licked her lips.

"Yeah, I know; you'd much rather have Toushirou pinning you down like this, wouldn't you?" She paused, now with a seductive smirk on her lips.

I didn't say anything, but it was obvious that I was blushing against my own will.

"See? You don't even understand just how much influence I have on your actions, you stupid, stupid girl. Lust is the only feeling that's acceptable; reason why: it's fun. Everything else is absolutely useless. Don't worry, I'll get some for the both of us," she winked.

She chuckled, and her fingers grew sharp as she held her hand up.

"Speaking of influence; I'd say it's just about time I started running the show here. Your time's up, Azumi. You're such a weakling that you'd sit around waiting for the Shinigami to kill us. It's absolutely appalling that I'm sharing a soul with a useless shit like you."

She stabbed my torso, and I immediately coughed up blood.

"It's about time I had the dessert I've been waiting for," she laughed as I blacked out.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I used my legs to push Imuza off me, and flung her off the bed and onto the wall.

Immediately I grabbed Hyourinmaru and was on my feet.

I couldn't be happier to see her, but at the same time I couldn't be more concerned. How did she get out of containment? Did she kill anyone? How was I supposed to get her out of the Seireitei now that everyone would be on high alert? Now that I asked myself that, I realized that this might actually be a blessing in disguise.

I heard her chuckling as she rose up slowly.

"Toushirou, how could you just throw me? I thought you loved me?" She grinned maliciously at me.

"I love Azumi; I said nothing about loving you," I replied.

I had to stall her somehow; I had to contain her so I could get her out of here before things got bad.

"How were you able to escape, Imuza? Where were you being kept?"

"Hah! You moron! You dare doubt _my_ power? That prison was nothing. I swear, you Shinigami think you're soooo clever; you guys are pretty stupid if you ask me. But among other things, don't you realize that loving Azumi also means loving me? That translates to I can do whatever I please with you." She put one foot up against the bed and leaned forward on her knee.

"So for starters, I'm going to chop your hand clean off like you tried to do to me. _Then_ , I'm going to have my way with you before sucking out your soul. And the best part is, _you_ can't stop me. Unless you want to kill your precious little Azumi along with me." She snickered.

She had a point.

Anything I do could brutally injure Azumi; the only option would be to restrain her and get her out of here. The issue was if I could make it in time.

Her Hollow mask began to form.

Make that two issues.

The white, liquidized Hierro freely flowed from her grinning mouth and immediately flowed to her hands; turning them into claws. Immediately she sprang at me like a bat out of Hell.

I jumped away just in time, and she crashed into the wall; creating a huge hole where she made contact.

"Aw come on, babe! Don't I turn you on? Don't run away from my affection!" She laughed.

"Bakudo 63: Sajou Sabaku!"

I rose my hand and released the Bakudo. The yellow, rope-like spiritual energy engulfed Imuza and tightened around her upper body like a snake coiling around its prey. She landed on the ground with a thump, and squirmed around.

"Bondage? I didn't know you liked S&M! I'm impressed! But don't tease me if you can't please me!" She cackled with that toothy smirk still on her face.

I walked over to her and sent a fluid chop to the back of her neck. She gasped and her head hung from the knockout.

I didn't know what she meant, but it didn't matter. At the very least I was able to restrain her for the time being.

I picked up the phone on the opposite end of the room and dialed Matsumoto.

"H-Hello?" Matsumoto answered.

"Matsumoto, come to my bedroom window immediately!"

"Hai, Taichou!"

I hung up the phone and went to the closet for a uniform.

I changed quickly and opened the window so Matsumoto could come in. I grabbed the backpack I previously prepared with supplies and tried to think of anything else we could need. It wasn't more than a minute before Matsumoto was climbing through the window.

"What? What is—Azumi-chan! How did—"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to take her and get out of the Seireitei; our operation begins now,"

I tossed Matsumoto the backpack and picked up Imuza.

We climbed out the window and quickly flash-stepped toward the Seireitei border.


	36. Chapter 36

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

It wasn't very long before we reached the walls of the Seireitei.

I knew of a place in the Rukongai that would be out of the way of any people and the perfect place to hide Azumi for the time being. It was a cave that had plenty of space and the outside was covered by the mountain range.

If Imuza turned into a Hollow completely, then at the very least there wouldn't be others around to get hurt. I had explained to Matsumoto that Azumi had escaped on her own and randomly appeared in my room. I had no idea whether or not she killed anyone—or how she even got out for that matter—but for the time being we just had to execute the plan.

We were almost to the spot, and a chuckle surprised me and almost made me lose my balance.

I looked down to see Imuza grinning at me. She looked at Matsumoto and chortled.

"Oh so big tits is here? And here I thought I was enough for you, Toushirou! Well hey, I suppose I could feast on her as my main course and save you for dessert." Imuza said with a wink.

"What the—" Matsumoto stared at her intensely.

"Taichou?" She asked me with a disgruntled look on her face.

"Meet Imuza." I replied.

"Imuza?" She asked.

"This is Azumi's Hollow persona, code-named: Imuza." I explained.

"The words you were looking for were Azumi's _true form_ ," Imuza tried to correct.

"Azumi's just a freak side show; I'm the main event, babe. Don't you forget it!" She continued without missing a beat.

"No you aren't, Imuza. Azumi's the one who's been in control for 17 years; _you're_ the side show." I replied coldly.

"Nope. She's gone now." Imuza chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Matsumoto looked at her harshly.

"I stabbed the shit out of her. It was great! She didn't even see it coming! She blacked out after coughing up her disgusting blood all over me. There's no way she's coming back from that. And if somehow she _does_ manage to try and come back, I'll just drown her. I can just hear her screaming under the water now; it's like sweet, sweet music to my ears." She grinned.

We were still on the outskirts of civilization, and Matsumoto stopped me so she could slap Imuza in the face.

"You shut your mouth! You'll never take Azumi-chan's place!" She shouted at her.

"Hah! What the Hell was that? You're such a weakling! It felt like the breeze just hit me!" Imuza smirked.

"It's still Azumi-chan's body; of course I'm not going to hit you hard!" Matsumoto shot back.

" _Are you deaf?_ She's not coming back; I already told you! Tough shit, sweet-tits, you're lookin' at the real deal here. It's _my_ time now!"

Could Imuza really be telling the truth?

It's obvious that Azumi was caught off guard and Imuza utilized the opportunity to take over, however, the part about her not being able to come back was concerning. What the Hell were we supposed to do if she couldn't come back? What would I do?

"Speaking of which,"

Suddenly Imuza completely broke free of the Bakudo in an instant and pushed herself off me.

"I was gonna wait to see if there might've been a sexy threesome in my future; but this has taken far too long!" She grinned.

"See? What did I tell you, Toushirou? You're so naïve to think you could _actually_ restrain me! Although if you would've played with me, then maybe I would've allowed it," she winked and blew a kiss at me, and it took all I had to keep a straight face.

"Tell you what—let me deal with tig 'ol bitties over here first, and then I'll play with you,"

She waved a hand at me, and without another second passing, attacked Matsumoto.

Luckily Matsumoto dodged.

Imuza went in for a second attack on her, but I didn't give her the chance. I parried her attack with my sheathed Hyourinmaru and shoved her off.

Imuza rose her hand up and formed a purple Cero at us.

I flash stepped behind her before she could launch it, and Matsumoto kicked her arm upward as she launched it.

As the light of the Cero lit the sky; I struck the back of her neck again; just hard enough to cause temporary vulnerability.

"Horin!" Matsumoto finished her attack, shooting the Bakudo at her.

The orange tendrils immediately wrapped around her and restricted her movement. Imuza fell over and immediately rolled over on her back.

"Didn't I just finish telling you?"

She opened her mouth, and in less than two seconds, her Hollow mask completely developed over her face.

"Since you both teased me without pleasing me; play time's over!" She growled.

She broke free of the Bakudo, rose to her feet, and tried for Matsumoto again. I promptly cut her off and waved Matsumoto to stay out of the way—she flash-stepped to a safer distance.

I wasn't planning on letting Matsumoto fight Imuza; I only called Matsumoto to help execute the escape, not to battle against her close friend. I'd have to just hold Imuza off for the time being; there was no other alternative.

I pushed her back, and she immediately came at me again. I had to take the offense, as much as I didn't want to.

I slashed at her and she dodged. She tried to come at me again, and I parried her attack. At my parry, she used her right claws to try and slash me. I flash-stepped and decided to try Hado.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui!"

The blue lightening erupted from my hand and crackled toward Imuza.

She laughed at it, and lifted her hand in front of it. The purple glow of her Cero completely engulfed my Sokatsui and blew a hole into the back of someone's house.

"A much needed improvement! Things that resemble cages piss me off!" Imuza commented, looking at the building.

"That stupid prison Azumi had me sitting in these past days was absolute _torture_!" She shook her head angrily and shivered.

"Never again!"

I needed to lure her out of the area; people were going to get hurt. I tried to think of a clever way to distract her enough to follow me.

"Quit daydreaming!"

Imuza flashed-stepped toward me with a tackle. She was definitely a lot faster than I suspected; she got the better of me and I flew back from the impact.

I caught myself, and just as soon as I stopped, Imuza was already above me.

"You keep holding back and you'll die!" She cackled.

She downward swiped at me, and I narrowly blocked it. She swirled around in another attack, and as I dodged, she stopped and faced me with her palm up.

She shot a Cero at me, and after I dodged it, she kept shooting it where I would land. She cackled throughout the entire time she shot them at me, along with trying to taunt me throughout.

Suddenly the Cero shooting stopped and she appeared in front of me. She side-kicked me, and I took the hit and flew back against a tree.

Before I could even get up, Imuza was already in front of me, purple Cero formed in her hand.

"And you're supposed to be a Taichou? This place is full of weaklings. You all don't deserve to live; I'll gladly take your lives one by one!" She smiled.

I flashed out of the spot I was in and, grabbed her outstretched wrist. I held her arm up above her, and she took the opportunity to swipe at me with her other arm. I countered it with Hyourinmaru, and she twisted free of my grip.

Suddenly, a light, metal sound clinked on the ground between the two of us.

I took a leap back in precaution, looking around to see who this new entity was. Imuza surprisingly did the same as we took a moment to assess what fell between us.

Without the moonlight it was hard to see anything, but immediately Imuza started laughing.

"Ohoho, man! This is _too_ good!" She belly laughed.

"And who'd a thought that _you_ of all people would help me? I like your style, you psychopath!" Imuza grinned.

Immediately Imuza leapt to where the object landed and grabbed it. She held it in her hand and blew the dirt off it before reaching up toward her ears.

It was…

She lifted her hand and slowly waved it over her face; her mask changrd into Yoru no Shedo's mask.

"Revert the soul to darkness!" she announced, laughing as the mask's transformation completed.

Everything around me changed to complete darkness; like someone flipped the light switch off.

I heard the clanking of metal hitting metal.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto called.

"On your guard, Matsumoto!" I shouted back at her.

I'd almost forgotten about Matsumoto; of course Imuza would use the opportunity to try to take her out. Luckily, Matsumoto wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Haineko!" Matsumoto called out.

I could sense Imuza's reiatsu closing in on Matsumoto.

I felt a gust of wind coming from Matsumoto's direction, and a sound similar to shifting sand.

If I had to guess; I'd say that Matsumoto formed a barrier around herself. With Haineko's ash shikai form constantly moving around her that way, wherever Imuza tried to attack Matsumoto would be able to detect it and have some defense.

Suddenly, there was a slight difference in the noise, as if there was a direct contact disturbing the flow of the ash. There was a loud crash against the ground.

"Haineko!" Matsumoto shouted again.

Within seconds, Matsumoto gasped loudly and hit the ground.

"Matsumoto!" I shouted at her and flashed toward her reiatsu.

I could hear metal clanking together again, and immediately after Matsumoto started screaming.

The darkness was gone suddenly, and once my vision was restored, I spotted them.

Imuza had Matsumoto on the ground with her face against Matsumoto's shoulder—she was sucking out her blood.

It couldn't be avoided any longer.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"

I released my shikai and immediately flashed toward Imuza; she countered my approach by using just one of her hands to shoot a Cero my way. I dodged and quickly ripped her off Matsumoto; throwing her so roughly that she created a small crater in the ground where she hit.

I picked up Matsumoto and flash-stepped with her away from Imuza.

"Taichou, I'm sorry I couldn't stop her," Matsumoto said with strain.

I found an alley and set her down on the ground gently. I quickly inspected her wound.

The bite was fairly deep, and bits of her flesh were missing. There was a large set of gashes along her torso from Imuza's tonfa as well. She was bleeding a lot, but luckily it didn't seem like that deep of a gash.

"No; I'm the one that's sorry I didn't stop her sooner. Stay here and I'll end this," I told her, turning around.

"Taichou!" She called.

I turned and looked at her.

"Don't kill her, please…Azumi-chan is still in there,"

"I know, Matsumoto…I know,"

I flash-stepped back toward Imuza.

She had her mask on rather than Yoru no Shedo's and was dusting herself off from the dirt on the ground.

I wasted no time.

I threw my chained blade at her in an attempt to—at the very least—confine her temporarily. She evaded it, and came after me.

I shot an ice dragon at her and caused some damage on her right shoulder. She attempted another slash at me, and I countered with one of my own. She completely started wailing on me; her tonfa pounding on Hyourinmaru over and over again.

I pushed her off me with an outward ice wave, and she jumped back. I released more ice dragons and—as much as it pained me—went in for a close-range attack.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

"Master, wake up!" Yoru no Shedo called.

I opened my eyes but couldn't move. The pain in my torso was so immense; I was surprised I was able to even regain consciousness.

Yoru no Shedo was standing by my head, looking over me with those giant orbs of hers.

"Master, Imuza has gained full control." She informed me.

I wasn't surprised to hear that; I let my guard down completely—what else was I to expect?

I blinked in response.

"Y-Yoru? You're here…" I half-smiled.

It was so unbelievably relieving to see her.

"Your wound is still open. Unfortunately there isn't anything I could do for you due to it's size. If it were smaller I could close it; this one is out of the range I can work with." She informed.

I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. My wound ripped even more at the deep breath, causing such a pain to where I began to see spots of white. I grit my teeth and tried not to scream in fear it would only irritate it more.

"Master, please be careful," Yoru no Shedo asked.

I gave her such a sarcastic look that any mentally inferior creature would have fainted.

"I'm trying," I quietly breathed out.

"What has Imuza done?" I slowly asked.

"Since my last check, she's injured Matsumoto Rangiku and is currently fighting Hitsugaya Toushirou." She informed me.

"Shit." I cursed.

"How the Hell did she get out of our confinement?" I asked.

"I'm not sure; what do you plan to do, Master?" She asked.

I took a deep, painful breath, and flipped myself over onto my stomach.

"God damn it!" I screeched.

It hurt so badly to the point where I heard a high-pitched ringing, and my vision became blurred more than it already was.

"Yoru, I need you to fly back and forth and report to me what's happening on the outside. Go!" I ordered.

"Understood." She complied and took off.

I gave myself a few seconds to compose myself; I coughed up blood in the meantime, which completely intensified everything. Once I was done coughing, I began to slowly crawl through the dead leaves toward the river. Why the Hell couldn't I have just materialized by the damn river? Why the Hell does it always have to be in the middle of the damn forest?

I shook my head, and continued toward the river—there was no time to waste.

It wasn't long before I realized crawling just wasn't working. I started trying to get up; using a tree as my support.

Rangiku…how bad was she? I had to put a stop to this and quickly; Imuza's gone too damn far! And Toushirou…if anyone could keep Imuza at bay, I'd want it to be him, but it didn't change the fact that I felt guilty as Hell about the whole situation. Hopefully he could prevent her from causing any more harm for the time being.

I took slow, even steps; each ripping the wound open even more. I grimaced at the pain and kept going. I was going to reach that damn river if it killed me. There was no way I could just lay here and try to recuperate while the people I care the most about are being injured… _by me._

This whole situation was complete bullshit.

I've been injured mentally and can't just fix myself. Isn't this my mind? Don't I make the rules?

Such bullshit.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

The more I fought with Imuza, the more powerful she became. With every connect, I noticed her Hierro slithering further along her body—it already completely covered her neck and shoulders. Her speed increased as well, and she was able to take advantage of me a few times by slipping by some of my attacks.

She stopped for a moment, and her tonfa suddenly disappeared. Faster than a blink of an eye, she kicked me from behind; as I flew forward, she flash-stepped in front of me and kicked me again. I was able to stop myself using my reiatsu, and she was already in front of me.

"You're not fighting with your full potential!" She swiped at me, and succeeded in dragging her claws across my chest.

She then pushed me and I hit the ground with force.

I couldn't do this.

If it were anyone else, it wouldn't be a problem for me to put them in their place. I couldn't fight at full force with her without killing her in the process, but if I didn't actually start fighting her with attacks that would inflict damage, then she could actually take me down. Imuza was strong, and I could tell that she could even square up to a Taichou's level if she was serious enough.

But Azumi's life hung in the balance of this battle; the more I fought back, the more I injured her. It stabbed at my heart just at the thought.

Imuza stood above me, and came down with a stab into my right shoulder with her claws. I inhaled sharply at the pain as she cackled insanely.

"I bet you're holding back because of that stupid Azumi, aren't you? This is why emotions are for the weak! They'll only end up getting you killed!"

She slammed her palm over my other shoulder and ripped out her hand she stabbed me with.

"Now, it's about time I finished up here, I'm starving! Let's hope your soul tastes as good as your blood!"

She grinned and roared, then proceeded to bite as hard as she could at my neck.

I shrieked at the pain and ripped her off me by her throat.

"You're not going to eat my soul; you're going to give Azumi back to me!" I snarled at her and kicked her off me.

I hopped to my feet and aimed my hand at her.

"Shakkaho!" I shouted, launching the red ball of reiatsu at her.

She dodged it, but took some damage on the movement. I kept firing multiple ones at her just as she had done to me with her Ceros from earlier.

I flash-stepped in front of her and swung Hyourinmaru at her; connecting with her shoulder. She smirked and pushed me back, and I went in again with multiple slash attacks.

She blocked all of them with her Hierro, and a few times it took chunks of it off. She started laughing at me—like she was some malicious child torturing a wounded animal.

She grabbed me and head-butted me; sending me flying back with the force of it. I skid across the ground like I was a stone being skipped across water, and finally stopped several feet away from her.

I shook my head, blood coming from my hairline and dripping down toward my face. I took a quick breath to help my vision come back to normal, and she was already back in front of me.

She side-swiped me with her claws, and sliced part of my side open with ease.

I winced and used the small moment after the blow to throw my chained blade at her again.

It wrapped around her, and I pulled her down to the ground.

"Oh Toushirou; why don't you just give up? You're not going to win—I promise you that. If you think that this is the extent of my power, then you're sadly mistaken!" She quickly rolled out of the chain, and was on her feet.

"Hyourinmaru!" I sent a roaring ice dragon at her, and it crashed right into her.

It bit down on her, and she shrieked in pain as it's teeth sank into her. Ice began to envelope her, and she roared in anger.

She broke out of it, and the ice dragon shattered onto the ground. She grit her teeth as her blood seeped down her left arm.

As she took an offensive stance, a shard of Hyourinmaru's ice began expanding on her arm—encasing her with ice.

"Well isn't this fancy?" She chuckled, looking at her arm.

I used the brief moment her guard was down and punched her in the stomach; sending her flying back toward the ground.

She coughed up blood, and smirked up at me as she wiped her mouth.

"All right, it's been fun playing with you, but now I'm _really_ h-angry. It's time—"

She stopped mid-sentence and sharply inhaled.

"N-No way!" She grabbed her head and dug her claws against it as sheet snarled.

"You little bitch! Y-You weren't supposed to come back from that!" She roared, shaking her head violently.

Did she mean Azumi? Was Azumi finally taking back control?

"N-No! S-Stop it!" She roared again.

Hyourinmaru's ice completely covered her torso at this point; I didn't want to make it stop until I knew for sure it was Azumi.

Suddenly, her Hollow mask disappeared, and Azumi's brown orbs stared up at me as she panted.

"T-Toushirou!" She shouted, trying to move.

It was her…

…she was finally back.

A wave of relief and happiness overwhelmed me at that moment, and I immediately sheathed Hyourinmaru and stopped the ice from spreading.

"W-What happened to you? You're hurt! Did I do that? I-I'm so—"

"Azumi, you're back," I smiled, taking a step toward her.

I didn't care how injured I was or the fact that she did it to me; Azumi was back, and that's all that mattered to me.

"Toushirou!" Azumi suddenly screamed.

A blade tapped at my throat, and I froze.

Azumi struggled to stand up.

"Y-You!" Azumi snarled.

I heard a chuckle in my captor's throat, a female sounding one at that.

I slightly turned my head, slicing my throat in the process. The person I saw immediately caused sadness to well up in my throat.

"Hinamori," I breathed.

The laugh turned loud and maniacal, as she turned her head toward me.

"Hi there, _Shirou-chan,_ " she smirked.

"What the Hell are you doing, Hinamori? That's you're best god-damn friend! Let him go!" Azumi shouted at her.

I glanced over at Azumi and saw that her eyes were red once again—the situation no doubt evoking her Hollow tendency.

Hinamori stopped laughing and looked at Azumi instead.

"Hinamori? Don't call me that,"

The blade against my throat shook for a moment—as did Hinamori—and something began to move near Hinamori's stomach.

Azumi looked at it in disgust, and I could see that the upper torso of a female began to form out of Hinamori's body. I couldn't believe what my peripheral was seeing; another human body was growing out of Hinamori?

"My name is, _Tokiwa Sute,_ " the growth said as it finalized.

Azumi gasped as her head and facial features formed.

The female that emerged from Hinamori was now able to turn and look me in the eye. She had long, black hair, and had white Hierro covering part of her face—she was an Arrancar.

"I-It's you!" Azumi shouted.

"What have you done to Hinamori?"

Tokiwa chuckled and pushed her long hair back.

"I've just used her for my bidding is all; Aizen-Sama told me she would be the easiest person in the Soul Society to inhabit, and he was right. She's such a weak-minded person; she didn't even put up a good fight." She chuckled.

"Let her and Toushirou go right now, Tokiwa!" Azumi snarled at her, stepping forward.

"I wouldn't if I were you,"

Tokiwa stabbed my torso with her hand alone, and I immediately coughed up blood.

"Toushirou!" Azumi shrieked.

My vision became hazy; unconsciousness close at hand from the blow. Tokiwa's hand stayed within me as she continued.

"Take another step, and I'll rip his kidney out of him!" She threatened.

Azumi stood there, hands balled into fists and tears streaming down her face.

"What do you want, Tokiwa?" Azumi asked venomously.

"I thought you'd never ask!" She laughed.

"In all honesty, your slow, torturous demise leading up to your death—that's what _I_ really want. I tried to do just that while I've been inhabiting this _disgusting_ Shinigami's body, but unfortunately Aizen-Sama caught on and before the Shinigami got around to it. He's tired of waiting around for you; I have to take you back to Las Noches." She explained.

Azumi didn't move a muscle.

"It was all you; the evidence against me, all the threats…it was all you!" she growled in disgust.

Tokiwa laughed.

"Wow; I seriously need to literally say 'yes' before you can believe it? As if my presence isn't enough proof in itself? You stupid, bloodsucking maggot."

"How long have you possessed Hinamori? What the Hell was the point?" Azumi shouted.

"Pretty much since you've been here; I had to study you to know exactly what I was dealing with. Last time you took my freaking arm! I wasn't about to storm in blindly!" She laughed.

"Plus, we wouldn't want the Soul Society to think you're on their side and come after you; your confession along with your escape really did help us—Aizen-Sama no doubt sends his thanks," she smirked.

Azumi's head dropped.

"Listen up Bounto—I'm only gonna say this once. If you don't come with me, Hinamori, and your _precious_ Toushirou will die here, by my hand. And on top of that…guess who else's lives are on the line?" Tokiwa chuckled.

When Azumi didn't say anything, Tokiwa continued.

"Remember that red curtain in the room? Guess who's house its from? Go on, guess!" she smirked.

Azumi looked up at her, eyes cold and lethal.

"Who's?" she replied.

Tokiwa laughed again.

"Your parents!" She grinned.

Azumi's eyes widened at the answer, and I could feel her reiatsu spiking.

"Azumi, don't listen to—"

"Did I say you could speak?"

Tokiwa cut me off by shoving her hand deeper into my abdomen—I coughed up blood in response.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Azumi screeched at her.

"Unless you agree to come with me quietly, I'll kill him right now. I've already got the _upper-hand here_ ," she laughed.

"Plus—at this very moment—I've wrapped myself around Hinamori's heart. One good squeeze and I'll make it explode." She threatened.

Azumi stared right into my eyes, pained and full of fear.

She was actually thinking about doing this.

I shook my head at her, hoping she would get the message that she at all costs couldn't go with her. Even if it meant Hinamori and I's death, she couldn't go through with it.

Azumi choked back a sob and tried so hard to stop her shaking.

"I'll go." She said, sucking in a breath.

"But you have to let both of them go right now!" She demanded.

"No!" I shouted.

"Done!" Tokiwa grinned.

Tokiwa completely ejected herself out of Hinamori; her lower half formed immediately, and she took a casual step out of Hinamori.

Hinamori blacked out and fell to the ground with her Zanpakuto, and Tokiwa ripped her hand out of me with no remorse.

Immediately after, she punched me square in the face, and I went flying back onto the ground.

The last thing I heard was Azumi calling my name before I blacked out.


	37. Chapter 37

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

"Be careful, Isane, move him carefully,"

"Hai, Taichou,"

I felt myself being picked up and forced into an upward leaning position.

My eyes shot open and I jolted in surprise at the contact.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, please calm down, you're okay," Isane tried to calm me.

I looked around in a panic.

"Where is she?" I shouted furiously.

"Who, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" Unohana asked.

"Takashita Azumi, where is she?" I repeated.

"Her whereabouts are unknown; she has escaped confinement." Unohana answered.

"You need to calm—"

"Shit!" I cursed.

I sat up immediately; wincing from the pain of my injuries.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, you need to calm down immediately. You need rest!" Isane urged.

I ignored her and uncovered myself. As I started to get up, Unohana stepped forward and pushed me back with her hand.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, you're not allowed to leave this bed—that's an order. Your injuries are too severe for you to even stand." Unohana ordered with that menacingly nice tone of hers.

I grit my teeth. Of course she was right, but I couldn't just sit here and do nothing now that Azumi was in enemy hands.

"Where is Matsumoto?" I asked.

"Recuperating in one of our other rooms. Her wounds were less severe than yours, but she's still to be on bed rest until further notice." Unohana told me.

I sighed in relief.

It was good to hear that at the very least she was okay.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, what happened to you and Matsumoto-Fukutaichou?" Unohana asked.

I clenched at the sheets. If I told her that Azumi caused our wounds, then it would only further convince everyone that Azumi really was a traitor. However, the only upside to this situation was with Hinamori.

"Where is Hinamori?" I asked, evading answering her question.

"She was here not too long ago; she was the one that found you and Matsumoto-Fukutaichou and called for help. She's been here—waiting for you to wake up for the past few days,"

"Few days?" I cut Isane off.

"How long have I been out?"

"Just two days. You woke up a few times, but you seemed like you were in a trance. That wound on your abdomen was very deep; I'm not surprised you were asleep for so long." Unohana explained.

Two days? Now I really couldn't afford to lay here, who knows what Aizen has done to Azumi all this time.

"I need to talk to Hinamori _right now_. I need you to send someone for her immediately." I told her.

"As you wish; she asked to be called when you awakened regardless. Isane, would you please?" Unohana asked.

"Hai, Taichou. Excuse me," Isane said before leaving the room.

Unohana put a hand on my forehead—no doubt checking my temperature—before sighing and walking over to the window.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, tell me," she shut the curtains and paused.

"It was Takashita Azumi wasn't it?" She asked.

I didn't answer.

I had to talk to Hinamori before anything else—I had to see what information I could get from her. She could completely change this entire situation, or she could worsen it; I wouldn't know until I talked to her.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, to tell you the truth, this entire situation involving Takashita Azumi doesn't quite sit well with me. I didn't know the young lady too well, however, she really seemed as if she cared about everyone here—even if they didn't care about her. Going along with that, during our last meeting, I studied her reactions throughout the entire duration of it. Her emotions weren't that of one who's been caught—they were rather of one who's been framed."

She turned around to look at me; a serious, yet cautious look depicting her features. Unohana was a smart woman; she was one who was always able to interpret things reasonably—could she be trusted?

"What do you think of Takashita Azumi's confession along with the recent incident?" She asked.

I evaded making eye contact with her while I thought the situation through. Unohana generally stayed out of the affairs of others, however, that doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't have an opinion about them. Generally, every time that I've heard her opinion, it's been justified and with wisdom; at times her cunning reminded me of Kyoraku. Kyoraku didn't look like the wisest guy ever, but that was his tactic. He doesn't look the part, but he acts the part and blows people away with it.

Unohana seemed almost the same; except instead of just disguising her cunning, she simply keeps it to herself until the right reason arises. Maybe I could do a test...

"Unohana, what is today's date?" I asked.

"The 27th of July," she replied.

"Matsumoto, Takashita and I returned to the Soul Society from the World of the Living on June 23rd. Please keep this in mind for the moment. I want you to be in the room when Hinamori gets here. Please don't leave." I told her.

She nodded, getting the hint that this may just be the answer to her question.

A few, silent minutes went by, and Hinamori came with Isane.

"Shirou-chan! Are you okay? I'm so happy to see you awake!" Hinamori exclaimed, rushing over to me.

"Thank you, Hinamori; yes I'm fine." I replied.

"What happened to you? And to me? What were we doing? I just found you passed out next to me in the Rukongai; then Matsumoto-san on the way back! What is going on?" She asked in a panic.

I looked over at Unohana who returned my gaze, wordlessly. I turned back to Hinamori.

"I'll tell you what happened in a few minutes. First, I need you to answer me this: what is today's date?" I asked.

"Today's date? What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, puzzled.

"Everything. _Please_ , tell me what today's date is." I prompted again with more urgency behind my tone.

She gave me a questioning look, and then looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"Well, two days have gone by…so I guess today is June 27th."

I knew it.

She didn't remember anything.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

I looked back at Unohana again. She was shocked, but she didn't say anything; she let me continue.

"Hinamori, when was the last time you and I talked before this recent incident?" I asked.

Hinamori looked back and forth between Unohana, Isane, and myself.

"W-What is going on here? W-Why is this coming up now? What's happened? Did I do something wrong?" She asked nervously.

"No, Hinamori, you haven't; please, just answer my question." I urged again.

She looked down at her hands, taking a moment before answering.

"Shirou-chan, I've been meaning to apologize for this; for what happened the last time I saw you," she began.

"Which was when _what_ happened?" I asked.

"It was when you corrected me in the hallway out of the dining area; I-I said some things that were out of line, and I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner to apologize," she staggered out.

"It's okay, Hinamori, I forgive you. How many days ago did that happen?" I asked.

"The same day when I woke up with you in the middle of nowhere in the Rukongai," she replied.

"You're scaring me! Please, tell me why you're asking these questions!" She asked again.

"Isane, get the Soutaichou here immediately." Unohana ordered.

"T-The Soutaichou? Right away, Taichou! Excuse me!" She bowed and left.

"Why does the Soutaichou have to be here? What's going on?" Hinamori asked with panic now.

"Hinamori, you were possessed by an Arrancar for over a month." I began; she gasped as I continued.

"While she possessed you, she cunningly used your knowledge of how the Soul Society functions in order to kidnap Takashita Azumi."

"B-But how? When did she—how did she—"

"I don't know exactly, but it would appear that one of her abilities is to somehow inject herself into others and use them to her advantage." I cut her off.

"She used this in order to also convince the Soul Society that Takashita Azumi is a traitor. Not only that, she tried to convince them that I am also a traitor." I paused.

"So Takashita Azumi's confession," Unohana started.

"Was to protect me at the cost of her life." I finished for her.

"I figured that much out shortly after the meeting; the only problem I faced was proving that the evidence was fake. But now with Hinamori, the situation seems promising." I concluded.

"Indeed it does in that regard, however, the question is, where is Takashita Azumi and the Arrancar now? Was the Arrancar the one who attacked?" Unohana asked.

"No, it wasn't the Arrancar. Takashita's Hollow alter-ego took over and broke out from her containment cell and came straight for me. I was able to knock her unconscious long enough to get her out of the Seireitei; however, she regained consciousness in the Rukongai and got the better of us. Once Takashita regained control of her consciousness; the Arrancar came out of hiding and threatened to kill Hinamori, Takashita's parents, and I unless Takashita agreed to go with her to Hueco Mundo." I concluded as I clenched the sheets.

"Damn bakayaro!" I shouted, slamming my fist against the mattress.

This whole situation was completely eating away at me. I can't believe that Azumi was stupid enough to let her feelings get in the way. What was she thinking?

My life and Hinamori's have been dedicated to protecting others and making sure _others_ live. Our lives are insignificant; the Soul Society as a whole is more important. Going along with that; Azumi isn't a Shinigami. Her life isn't dedicated to others—she shouldn't have sacrificed herself for me. I don't matter; I'm completely insignificant. She's an innocent girl that didn't deserve to get involved in any of this.

I was supposed to protect her. I wasn't supposed to let anything bad happen to her…and now she's in Aizen's hands, getting experimented on and…and…

I couldn't even finish that sentence. I'm such a fool. I've failed as a Taichou, failed as a friend, and worst of all failed as a significant other.

" **Master, you didn't fail at anything; this isn't your fault in the least. You did the best you could with an uncontrollable situation,"** Hyourinmaru tried to comfort.

" _You're wrong, Hyourinmaru. I didn't protect her…I just—"_

"I wouldn't go as far as that, Hitsugaya-Taichou," Unohana interrupted my train of thought.

She walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sure you would risk your life to protect the person you care about the most in this world; would you not?" She asked with a small smile.

I stared at the wrinkled bed sheet over my legs and put a hand against my forehead.

" **My thoughts exactly,"** Hyourinmaru commented.

"S-Shirou-chan, I am so incredibly sorry," Hinamori suddenly spoke up.

I looked at her as she continued.

"I am so sorry that I caused you and everyone else trouble! I still can't believe that I…that I was,"

It was then I noticed that she was shaking.

I put a hand against her shoulder.

"Don't be—it wasn't your fault. It's in the past; I'm just glad that you're okay, she didn't harm you, and you're back to being yourself. I've missed the bed-wetter I grew up with." I forced a small smile.

I wasn't in the best of moods with this whole situation, but one of the positives was that everything that happened with Hinamori _wasn't her_. Every bad thing she said this entire month, my childhood friend completely betraying me, was all a lie. For once, I can truly say I'm glad that I was lied to. Losing Momo was a pain I never wanted to go through again.

"Excuse us," Isane said as she opened the door.

The Soutaichou walked in and looked at the two of us.

"What is this urgent matter to be discussed?" He asked.

Unohana and I explained to him the entire situation. Hinamori told her side of things which was immensely helpful. The Soutaichou didn't say a word as we explained. He assessed everything we told him, and then even at the end of our explanation took some time to think.

After a few moments, he finally spoke.

"It is unfortunate that this has happened to Takashita Azumi, however, there is nothing we can do at this time. Aizen has won for the time being."

I immediately became outraged.

"Soutaichou, wouldn't we be able to throw together an assault team for her retrieval? If Aizen were to go through with his plans—"

"Absolutely not." He interrupted Unohana.

"It's already too late for that. If she had only been taken perhaps within the hour, then we would've been able to intercept. However, too much time has passed; Aizen has most likely already used her for his bidding and she is most likely already dead. It would be sending our most valuable assets to their slaughter if we created an assault team." He said.

I couldn't help myself.

"She could still be alive!" I immediately interjected.

"If what the Arrancar said previously was true, then that would mean we have a few months before any results from experimentation! We could still stop Aizen in his tracks if we go there and take Takashita back!"

I was incredibly angered and flustered. The fact that he was just pushing this to the side was completely unacceptable.

"We cannot!" he snapped back.

"At this point in time, we are not equipped to go into enemy territory. If we lose our men now, when the Hogyoku awakens in a few months, we will suffer complete annihilation! One life in comparison to the rest of the population is not a risk I am willing to take, Hitsugaya-Taichou,"

If I was angry before, I was furious now. The old man didn't get it—he didn't get it at all.

"Action is prohibited at this time until further notice. I will inform the other Taichou today in a meeting. This conversation is now concluded." He sternly ordered.

Unohana, Isane, and Hinamori slightly bowed at the Soutaichou, and then he turned and left.

The room was thick with silence. I was so infuriated at the entire situation that I was about to snap.

Sensing my frustration, Unohana stepped forward and ushered Hinamori and Isane out of the room. Hinamori was hesitant to leave, but with Unohana's look, she left with them.

This was unbelievable.

Azumi has been taken hostage and is most likely getting experimented on, not to mention _sexually_ _abused_ and the answer is to just forget about it? Just leave her there to suffer and die? Her—a life not committed to serving and protecting others, a life that isn't that of a soldier's—to just accept her fate?

How terrified she must be right now. The thought of Aizen and his men doing those things to her…

I could already feel the temperature drop.

I couldn't just lay here and do nothing. I was going after her whether the Soutaichou liked it or not. Let him take my Taichou title—it wasn't worth Azumi's life.

I had to tell Matsumoto everything that's happened before anything else. After I tell her what happened, I'm going by myself to the World of the Living. I'll get healed by Inoue Orihime, and then see if Urahara knows how to get to Hueco Mundo. I'm sure that he has to know something about how to get there.

A few hours passed by, and finally a squad member came in to check on me. I ordered him to bring in Matsumoto immediately. He momentarily hesitated, but with his ranking versus mine, he complied and brought her in on a wheelchair.

"Taichou! Where is she?" Rangiku shouted upon entry.

I ordered the squad member to leave the room for a few minutes, and when he left, I explained the entire situation to Matsumoto.

"So you're telling me that we aren't allowed to do anything about this?" Matsumoto asked, clearly as outraged about the situation as I was.

"That's the order he's given," I reaffirmed.

Now repeating the story for a third time, the Soutaichou's response was to be expected. I didn't agree with it, but I did understand his point.

"That is the stupidest order that I've ever been given! You're not going to seriously let this slide, are you?" She asked me, gripping the handle of her wheelchair.

I took a long look at her, and took a breath.

"I'm not, but _you_ are." I started.

Her eyes widened and immediately her facial expression changed to shock. Before she could say anything, I continued.

"Matsumoto, I need you to stay here and recuperate. I need you to take care of the Squad in my place in case of anything. If I don't make it back, you're all they have." I told her.

She averted her angered eyes away from me. She didn't say anything, just kept her gaze affixed at something on the floor.

"Know this, Matsumoto: I will bring Azumi back safely, at the cost of my title and my life. If I happen to lose either of them, I need you to take care of her and our Squad. You'll be the only one they have—"

"Absolutely not!" She interrupted.

I was taken aback; Matsumoto never interrupted during an order. She always just complied without question.

"I can't follow that order, Taichou. I refuse." She replied as she looked me sternly in the eye.

"I can't just sit here and wait for your return. I can't just sit here and while my best friend is being tortured. I can't sit here again and watch the people I love the most _suffer and leave_ me again. As far as the Squad goes; they'll be taken care of because I plan on all three of us coming back here alive. Please, have some faith in me." She said.

I looked into her eyes; laced with a serious intent I'd never seen before. As much as I didn't want to risk losing her too, she wasn't going to let me go by myself no matter what I said.

I looked over to Hyourinmaru, and couldn't help but smirk.

"Matsumoto," I turned back to look at her.

"Watch my back then."

She smirked right back at me.

"Always, Taichou."

-[×]-

The moon wasn't out tonight—all the better to aid us.

I grit my teeth to keep from grunting from all of my movements. My wounds seriously needed more treatment. Tokiwa got into my side pretty deep; it couldn't be fixed with just mere stitches and healing kido.

I opened the window to the recovery room Matsumoto was in, and within a few seconds she was out the window with me. Without another word, we both headed out toward the Senkaimon.

The guards at the gate were both surprised to see anyone at this hour.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou," they both bowed and said in unison.

"Open the gate, immediately." I ordered.

They both gave each other a quick glance before one of them spoke up.

"Taichou, unfortunately we did not receive clearance that—"

"That's an _order_." I repeated myself.

"H-Hai, Taichou!" they both said.

Immediately they both took hold of one of the doors and opened it. They bowed, and held onto the handle.

"Let's go," I told Matsumoto.

"Right," she replied.

We went through the doors and flash stepped through the Precipice world. Since this was an unauthorized visit, we had to hurry before the cleaner came, or any other Shinigami for that matter.

Soon enough, we made it through to the World of the Living. After taking a brief moment to catch our breath—especially since our wounds opened from the voyage—we went straight to Inoue Orihime's home.

Matsumoto knocked loudly.

"Orihime-chan! It's Rangiku! Won't you please let us in?" She called.

After a few seconds, she finally came to the door.

"Rangiku-san? Hitsugaya-Taichou-san? What are you guys doing here this late?" She asked, rubbing an eye and motioning us in.

"Sorry, we'll explain everything I promise, but first would you please heal us? Taichou and I are both hurt," she smiled and showed her bitten shoulder.

"Oh my goodness! Of course! Please sit!" Orihime told us.

As I started to shut the door; a familiar voice shouted at me.

"Hey! Toushirou!" Kurosaki shouted.

I looked through the door to see him and Kuchiki approaching.

"Rukia and I sensed you guys; what's going on? Why are you guys here?" Kurosaki asked, pushing the door back open.

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime greeted.

Matsumoto decided to tell everyone everything that happened in the Soul Society while Inoue healed us.

Kurosaki was immediately outraged, as I knew he would be.

"What the Hell is that old man thinking! You can't just leave behind a young girl like that!" he shouted.

"Ichigo," Rukia tried to console.

"I'm going with the two of you." Kurosaki said, standing up, and staring at me with those intense eyes he has.

I thought about what he said for a moment. It would be more help if he did come; Kurosaki was around Taichou rank in strength. It would be troublesome, but it made sense for me to take the offer.

"All right. We're leaving as soon as I'm finished healing. I'd suggest you get anything you think you might need quickly." I told him.

"I'm good to go." He answered immediately.

"Well, I can't just sit here and do nothing either. Plus, I have to make sure this one doesn't do anything regrettable." Kuchiki elbowed Kurosaki.

"I'm going to pack some snacks for you guys; there's no telling when you will be able to eat again, so you should take the time now before you go," Inoue said, standing up.

She walked over to the kitchen and started rustling around some things in there. After a few minutes, she came back out with a few items. There were small water bottles, some chips, and some onigiri.

"I want to go with you guys as well…however…" she started handing each of us one of each item.

"I won't be much use. Also, if I got hurt and didn't make it back, who would heal all of you when you return?" She concluded hesitantly.

Kuchiki put a hand on her shoulder while Matsumoto gave her a hug.

"Orihime-chan, we know that you want to go, but we don't want to risk losing you too. We'll send Azumi-chan all your good thoughts as soon as we take her back. I promise," Matsumoto cooed.

"Don't worry Inoue, everything is going to turn out okay; I promise." Kuchiki patted her.

"H-Hai!" She replied; anyone could tell she was holding back from crying.

I felt my side and couldn't feel the hole any longer—that was good enough for me. We had to leave before the Soutaichou caught on to everything.

I stood up put the food and water in my pockets.

"Let's get going; there's no time to waste." I told them.

The three of them nodded and grabbed their things.

"Thank you, Inoue, I owe you one." I told her.

"N-No! Not at all!" She smiled sheepishly.

I looked at the others and Kuchiki opened the door.

"Thanks again, Inoue!" Kurosaki turned to her.

"Please be safe, all of you! I'll await your return!" Inoue said.

With that, we all left.

-[×]-

"Word gets out pretty quickly, when you have the right resources." Urahara grinned.

He already knew what happened without us saying anything at all—evidently Soi Fon told Yoruichi everything a few days ago. They figured that it was only a matter of time before she would be kidnapped and taken to Hueco Mundo. Urahara already had the gate ready for us.

At least with this we saved time and were able to leave immediately.

"I'm going with you," Yoruichi stood up.

"I can't allow one of my students to die prematurely." She stretched.

"Also, this will give us better insight to exactly what we've been dealing with for the past thousand years." She smirked.

After a successful back-crack, she started walking down toward the underground training area, all of us following suit.

Abarai woke up to see what was going on, and after Kuchiki filled him in, he was on board and coming with us. Urahara finished with the preparation and was about to open the gate.

I turned to everyone.

"Remember, we're going in for one purpose, and one purpose only: Bring back Takashita Azumi. Try to avoid any unnecessary combat. As much as we all want to have a shot at fighting Aizen, at the moment we need to avoid it at all costs. Understood?" I asked.

Everyone nodded.

The gate opened, and a dark sensation immediately crept into the room.

I turned around and looked up at Urahara.

"Everyone, its time! Please be safe! Bring me back my cute little Azumi-chan!" he tipped his hat.

"Let's go!" I shouted.

"Hai!" everyone shouted back.

We jumped into the dark portal, and were finally on our way.

" _Azumi, I'm coming…please, hold on for just a little longer..."_


	38. Chapter 38

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 3 of Azumi's Capture (Present)-**

Hueco Mundo looked just like the description. White sand, night sky, and desert as far as the eye could see. The only thing that wasn't in the description was Aizen's domain: Las Noches. It was incredibly huge, even from the distance we were from it.

Three hours had gone by, and we were closing in on the fortress ahead. We'd taken a few breaks to catch our breaths, and then immediately went right back at it.

Once we got to the massive wall guarding the fortress, Kurosaki decided that slashing through the wall was the better alternative than finding an entrance.

Abarai helped him, and in no time we had an entrance. I took the lead and ran down the dark hallway. After several twists and turns, we reached a room that had three different passages.

"What should we do, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked.

"We should split up!" Kurosaki answered for me.

I didn't like the idea, but it seemed as if we had no alternative. If we all went the wrong way, then the longer it would take to find Azumi. It had already been a few days, we couldn't waste anymore time.

"Okay, we'll split into groups of two. I'll take Matsumoto with me; the rest of you can decide who you would like to go with." I told them.

"I'll go with Renji," Kuchiki said.

"Yo! Looks like it's you and me, Ichigo!" Yoruichi smirked.

"Fine by me," he replied with a grin.

"If you find her, raise your spiritual pressure to a constant level and we'll all come to you. If you're fighting someone, try to either escape or finish it quickly rather than continuing engagement, and be careful with your spiritual pressure. Anyone else have anything to say?" I asked.

"I do, Taichou," Abarai stepped up.

"It's a tradition in the Soul Society to recite a chant before going into battle; since it's the 6 of us against all of Las Noches, I'd like to say it now before we separate. Everyone, put your hands in." He outstretched his hand in front of him.

"I didn't know you were so traditional," Matsumoto chuckled sarcastically.

"Yeah yeah, just put your hand in!" Abarai shot back with embarrassment.

After a hesitant delay, all of us put our hands in and Abarai began.

"We at this moment head into a decisive battle! Have faith that our blades will not shatter; have faith that our hearts will not waver! And even if our paths should diverge, we all share a heart of iron! Swear that even if the ground beneath us should be rent asunder, we will live and return to this place once again!" He pushed our hands down.

"Go!"

Immediately all of us flash-stepped off into the three different hallways. One could only hope that this really was the fastest way to find Azumi.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

**-Day 1 of Azumi's Capture-**

"Come on! Hurry up!" Tokiwa Sute yanked my arm.

"I'm already coming with you! Give it a rest, bitch!" I snarled at her.

She immediately vice-gripped my arm.

"Hey! Watch your fucking mouth, scum!" She shouted at me, with a fluid slap to my face.

"If you speak that way around Aizen-Sama, I'll personally slash your head clean off your shoulders!" She threatened.

I couldn't help myself—I laughed.

She looked at me in angry confusion.

"Great! It's settled, you'll be doing me a favor!" I cackled away like some psychopath.

She angrily sighed and tugged me along while I continued to my insane laughter.

We left the weird black void we were in through a gigantic rip in front of us, and were now above a Castle-looking building. I looked around and noticed it was night time, and the surrounding area was nothing but desert. Aizen sure picked a Hell-of-a place for a fortress—that's for sure.

Tokiwa plunged down toward the castle, still gripping my arm to make sure I didn't go anywhere. Honestly, at that point, where would I even go? Was it really necessary to keep a hold on me? I mean, I wouldn't know how to get back anyway—typical villain I guess.

We landed on a bridge connecting two towers, and she started dragging me toward one of them. I had finished laughing and kept up her pace as I trudged along.

She pushed the doors open, and we let them close themselves behind us. The best word that came to mind about the interior was: pristine. Aizen liked elegant things it would seem.

We kept walking right along; Tokiwa not missing a beat whatsoever. The more we walked however, the more I felt like she grew angrier with each step. But hey, what did it matter to me?

I was pretty surprised at my demeanor about this whole thing. Maybe it was because I had completely given up on everything when I was back in confinement. I felt numb again, but it was almost like being a kid at the dentist that got the laughing gas instead of being put to sleep. I was in serious trouble, but somehow I accepted it.

I knew that no matter which way this went down; I wasn't going to be walking out of here scotch-free. There were only two things that honestly kept me going at this point.

One: Toushirou and Rangiku are safe and out of harm's way for the time being.

Two: I'd finally get to have a crack at killing that Aizen bastard.

If I could at least kill him, I could officially die in peace. He's the one causing all this mayhem. The one who's threatening the lives of all humans and souls alike; the one who completely destroyed any chance I had at a normal life. The one who killed my parents, the one who threatens the life of my best friend Rangiku, and the one who threatens the life of the person I love the most: Toushirou.

The first chance I got, I was going after Aizen's head. If it meant dying in the process, then so be it. Better that than letting him have his way with me.

After many twists and turns, we came upon a large set of doors. Tokiwa opened them and pushed me inside.

"Get changed! I'll be back for you later!" She commanded with an added angry-umph laced in her tone.

She slammed the door shut, and I could hear it locking like an industrial deadbolt. The room was a rectangular shape, and only had one window high up on the wall; barred of course. At this hour, the crescent moon could be spotted perfectly in the center of the window. It's glow illuminated the center of the room, where there was one comfortable looking couch with a dark chocolate colored coffee table and rug.

I walked up to the seating area and saw white fabric folded neatly on the coffee table. I picked it up and unfolded it; it was a dress-like outfit in all white. They expected me to change into this?

The dress was far too long for my short body, and the turtle neck looked uncomfortable. I wasn't gonna put that stupid outfit on. I'd trip and fall if I wore it anyway. I looked down at my current outfit and saw that it was torn in a lot of different spots. I contemplated actually changing, but decided I looked better in black anyway.

I put it back on the coffee table and sat on the couch. It was definitely nicer than the bed in my confinement cell in the Soul Society, but somehow, I preferred the Soul Society's cell rather than this one. This one was definitely nicer, _and_ more comfortable, but being here in Hueco Mundo just didn't feel right. I'd rather be confined in the Soul Society than here.

At least there they had a good reason to confine me; here they just wanted to use and abuse me for the purpose of hurting others.

I started thinking about the whole purpose Aizen created me and immediately regretted it. The only thing it brought was sadness and more pain and thought-process than I needed. What was I going to do when…I didn't want to think about it.

Avoiding thinking about it seemed logical. If I didn't think about it, then the easier it would be. I wasn't going to actually let them go through with it at any cost.

The bottom line is, I saved Toushirou and Rangiku. They are safe—that's all that matters. I just hope that they understand what I've done. I hope they can put themselves in my shoes and ask themselves what they would've done in my situation.

Toushirou was so injured…but the physical pain wasn't what etched his facial expression; it was emotional.

That look he had...hurt my heart like no other.

I couldn't help but let out a few tears.

This was all really happening. I was really Aizen's prisoner now. No more waking up next to Toushirou, no more seeing Rangiku's smiling face every morning. Granted, I hadn't had any of that in the last week, but for some reason, everything decided to hit me now. Maybe it was because I could very well be tortured here rather than left alone like before. Whatever the reason, I couldn't help but start bawling.

Some time went by, and the door unlocked. I sat up from my slouched position and looked at who was coming in.

The door opened to a face I knew I'd see eventually.

Ulquiorra.

He looked me directly in my eyes as he walked to the middle of the room.

"You were told to change your garments, were you not?" He asked.

I tried hard not to fidget.

Every fiber of my being was telling me to jump him on the spot. But I knew that if I did, I wouldn't get a chance at getting to the real mastermind. So I grit my teeth and looked away from him.

"The dress was too long for me." I responded.

Ulquiorra walked over to it, and put two fingers on it. His fingers glowed for an instant, and then he took his hand away.

"It is now the proper size; change." He ordered.

I stood up and walked over toward him and the coffee table. I picked it up and unfolded it.

"Why does it matter that I change? Does Aizen prefer his _test subjects_ to look more presentable?" I scoffed while looking at the new dress.

Ulquiorra stuck his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes.

"Aizen-Sama prefers all of his subjects to dress in this style of attire." He said, turning to gaze at me with those intense eyes of his.

"From now on, you will address him as Aizen-Sama. He is your Lord, as he is mine. You are alive for the purpose of serving him only; your past life along with who you once were is now nothing more than dust in the wind." He said.

He turned completely toward me.

I didn't respond; just looked directly back at him. It was silent for a few long moments. Our eye contact was completely uncomfortable; it was like his eyes penetrated into my thoughts.

"This is the last time I will say it: _change_." He said.

He turned toward the door.

"I will step out for a moment. If you are not changed by the time I get back; then I will change you by force. Whether it takes knocking you unconscious or breaking your limbs, you will be dressed from here forward in that attire." He walked toward the door, and shut it behind him.

Well then.

I shook my head and started to change.

The fact he thought I'd just immediately give in and start acting like I was his ally was pretentious as Hell. Yeah, like I'd really just want to serve the guy who completely ruined everything in my life—sounded like the right thing to do.

The dress was all white with black fabric as an under layer. It fit with my shape, and went all the way down to my mid-shin area. There were two slits on either side if the dress, and under it was the black fabric to cover the bare parts of lower thigh. It was a sleeveless, turtleneck fashion on the upper part of the dress. Directly dead center on my chest was a hole in the outfit; made purposely with it I suppose. The white fabric on the top was a larger hole than the black fabric underneath it. The black fabric was a bit smaller, but no matter what, the whole purpose was to see my bare chest in the center.

Right as I finished getting the dress on, Ulquiorra came back in.

He looked at me briefly, and then turned back toward the door.

"Come with me." He ordered.

I walked over to him by the door, and exited out with him behind me. The door closed and locked, and immediately Ulquiorra began walking.

I followed suit—even though I was in front of him—and faced forward.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He took a moment before answering.

"Aizen-Sama wishes to see you." He said.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 3 of Azumi's Capture (Present)-**

Matsumoto and I had long since separated from the others.

The hallway was fairly long, and I was surprised that we hadn't encountered anyone in the first hour of our entry. The Soul Society would've already been on emergency alert. Did we really sneak in undetected?

As if on cue with my thoughts, an Arrancar appeared mid-flash-step. The two of us stopped and stared at her, taking defensive positions.

She had purple hair, separated and tied up in two pig-tails at the top sides of her head. Her Hollow mask almost resembled some type of hair pin; it was affixed on the roots of her side-swept bangs. She wore an all white dress with boots and wings on her back. She held what looked like some child's yo-yo toy that was completely golden; I assumed that was her weapon.

"Oh, well would you look at this? A Chibi-Taichou and Fukutaichou _did_ sneak in! How unfortunate for you!" she said, taking a few steps closer.

Matsumoto and I didn't budge an inch.

"I'll bet you're here for that Bounto, aren't you?" She asked with a smirk.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" she laughed.

"Well, as much as I feel like playing,"

She released her weapon and transformed into a moth-like creature.

"I've got orders to kill any of the intruders I come into contact with, so I guess this is where our conversation ends, Chibi-Taichou," she said.

"Good; I don't have the time to drag out a fight with you," I replied, unsheathing Hyourinmaru.

She immediately plunged one of her bladed wings at us, and we both flash-stepped out of the way.

"Bankai!" I shouted.

Immediately Hyourinmaru's ice wings developed and spread across my shoulders.

Hopefully I could end this quickly.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

**-Day 1 of Azumi's Capture-**

Ulquiorra and I approached a set of huge, closed double doors. They opened slowly—with no one actually opening them—and we walked past them, Ulquiorra still directly behind me.

There was a fairly long rug—similar to a red carpet but white—that began at the entryway we walked through and ended on the other side of the room.

I looked up, and saw three men at the rug's end.

The one on the left was tall and had grey hair that partially covered his face. He was dressed in the white garb Aizen deemed fit, with his hands behind his back. His eyes reminded me of a cunning fox; as if everything was a game he'd already won. It was intimidating, but what else would I expect?

The one on the right side was of a darker skin tone with long dreadlocks hanging about. He had interesting-looking glasses covering his eyes, and I wondered if this was the infamous blind Tousen I'd heard about. His face was aimed right at me and—even if he couldn't see—he left an unsettling feeling just by facing me.

Lastly—dead center—was a man sitting on what looked like a throne. I could only assume that he was Aizen.

He had brown hair that was pushed back with a few strands of hair hanging over his forehead. He leaned against his hand in such a casual way; as if everything going on wasn't a big deal. Like he was watching a show on television or something that he had already seen before.

It irritated me.

He was an attractive looking guy, but that aura he gave off was absolutely upsetting. It reminded me slightly of Tokiwa's personality when she was in control of Hinamori; super nice and sweet up front, but a psychopath underneath.

We approached the three of them and came to a stop. Ulquiorra stepped in front of me and slightly bowed to them.

"Allow me to introduce our Lords," Ulquiorra turned to me.

'To your left is Lord Ichimaru Gin. To your right is Lord Tousen Kaname. And between two of them is Lord Aizen Sousuke." He said.

I nodded and looked up at Aizen.

"So this is it, I finally get to meet the one who completely wrecked my existence from the get-go." I smirked.

Silence.

I suddenly became overwhelmed with anger and hate as soon as I made direct eye contact.

"Revert the soul to darkness, Yoru!" I shouted; taming my flaring, furious reiatsu at the same moment.

Immediately my mask formed and it was lights out.

Nobody seemed to even flinch. In the same second that the lights went out, I immediately lunged straight for Aizen.

Tousen intercepted me with his Zanpakuto, and pushed me off before I could even get to Aizen.

"Oh? Tousen, I think you have an admirer." Gin snickered, his grin ever present.

I went in with my spinning attack, and still Tousen was able to block it. He pushed me off again and came in with incredible speed.

He stabbed my left shoulder all the way through and pinned me to the ground.

I screamed like I never had before. The pain was so overwhelming that Yoru's mask receded and the darkness dissipated until the normal light in the room was restored.

"Welcome home, Takashita Azumi," I heard Aizen say.

I could feel my body yearning to vomit the all too familiar liquid Hierro.

Before anything could happen, I heard sets of footsteps coming toward me.

"Oh no, we just got that outfit for her; now it's all stained in red. Whatever are we to do with you, Takashita-san?" Gin said.

I didn't say anything; I winced and tried hard not to let the black take over my vision.

"I didn't want it to be this way upon first meeting you, Azumi-chan;" Aizen began, stopping to stand directly next to me.

"However, now is the perfect opportunity to see just how far my little test subject has developed. Tousen, if you wouldn't mind,"

Wait, what?

"Certainly, Aizen-Sama,"

Immediately—while the blade was still lodged in my shoulder—Tousen twisted it slowly, back and forth.

As I screamed bloody murder, Tousen took the blade out and in the blink of an eye, lopped my arm clean off from my bicep.

I couldn't even scream.

The black took over completely.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 3 of Azumi's Capture (Present)-**

The fight with this Arrancar was taking longer than expected; she put up a decent fight. Although her bladed wings weighed her down, she was fairly quick.

She sent out another one of her vibrating blades and caught part of my right ice wing. She laughed victoriously as the ice skidded across the ground.

"You're not too bad, Chibi-Taichou! But I can see you're starting to slip up! But hey, you are fighting Sanderwicci Cirucci after all!" She laughed again.

She looked over at Matsumoto—who I told to stay out of it—and lunged straight for her. Matsumoto dodged, and sent Haineko's ash straight into the Arrancar's face.

The Arrancar was able to maneuver herself out of the ash, and proceeded to shoot out several of her blades at Matsumoto and myself. Matsumoto ended up getting her arm cut by one of them and winced as she continued to dodge.

I couldn't drag out this fight any longer. The more time I let pass, surely the stronger she would become.

"Sanderwicci Cirucci, was it?" I asked.

"Number 105, Ex-Espada; correct." She replied with a smirk.

"Is that so?" I held my blade over my head.

"Guncho Tsurara!"

I released the attack; several icicles flew directly toward her. While she was distracted with blocking them, I flash stepped behind the icicles and directly to her.

I slashed downward and sent a huge ice dragon her way. It connected, and broke within a few seconds.

She shrieked at the contact, and I immediately took a couple steps back.

"Hah! You think that attack really—" her sentence was cut off when she realized my ice started developing from the wound.

"W-What is this?" She shouted in a panic.

She tried to scrape the ice off, but it just kept spreading.

"What the Hell did you do?" She shrieked.

I sheathed Hyourinmaru while Matsumoto did the same with Haineko. She walked over to me, and inspected Sanderwicci.

" _You_ were the unfortunate one to run into my Taichou," Matsumoto told her.

The Arrancar grunted, still trying to break free even though my ice was all the way up to her neck.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, Taichou of Squad 10. It was nice knowing you," I said to her as the ice took over the rest of her face.

With one final grunt, the ice completely took over. I looked at her one more time and quickly slashed through the ice in one swing—shattering the ice along with her.

I looked at Matsumoto to see how bad her injury was. She immediately waved me off and I took her word for it.

"Let's go." I told her.

"Hai!" She replied.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

**-Day 2 of Azumi's Capture-**

A blinding white light woke me up. I quickly closed my eyes to keep the light out.

"I was…asleep?" I whispered aloud, a smile on my face.

My left arm felt non-existent from just under my shoulder area. I must've slept on it again; that's why it felt completely numb.

I'd had such a terrible dream.

"Thank God that was just a dream…" I sighed with a tiny yawn.

"Toushirou…I had a nightmare last night," I paused for reaction before continuing.

When he didn't say anything, I continued.

"I was kidnapped and taken to Las Noches by that weird Arrancar girl, and then I met Aizen and his crew, and then they stabbed me, and then I turned into a Hollow." I explained lowly, yawning afterward.

No response.

"Nightmares sure can be scary sometimes...it felt so real," I said, sweeping my bangs out of my face.

No response.

"Are you still asleep?" I asked.

No response again.

I reached behind me and felt around for him, eyes still closed.

A hand grabbed my searching one delicately.

I laid my head back down on the pillow and wrapped my fingers around his hand, a smile still on my face.

"What are you doing?" I paused to yawn again.

"Come here," I slightly tugged on his hand.

His hand gave in and he sat down on the bed next to me. I patted my back like I normally would—signaling for him to hold me. He laid down beside me and did just that; his arm went over mine as he pulled himself close to my body, and once he settled, he gently put his hand around my throat.

He never did that before…

Something wasn't right.

I put my hand over Toushirou's hand around my throat. He didn't normally feel this way…

This hand was slightly larger, and with rougher skin than Toushirou's. In fact, this guy was bigger than Toushirou…

My eyes shot open to that white light. I blinked a few times to adjust, and immediately my spine stiffened in a panic.

It wasn't a dream.

_I really was in Las Noches._

I squirmed subconsciously, and the hand around my throat tightened and made me freeze.

"W-Who are you?" I whispered as I felt the gulp I took in fear slither down my throat.

The person nuzzled his head against the back of my neck. He inhaled deeply; the soft, cold movement of air from the inhale sending goosebumps to rampantly spread on my skin.

I heard a low chuckle, and the hand around my neck squeezed against me again.

"It's been a while…"

"… _Kawaii-chan_ ,"


	39. Chapter 39

**Takashita Azumi**

**-Day 2 of Azumi's Capture-**

"N-No…no way…it can't be," I stammered out.

He chuckled and nuzzled the back of my neck with his nose.

"I've missed you, _Kawaii-chan—_ especially the way you smell,"

Quickly, I rolled forward to get out of his grasp; getting scraped by his fingers around my neck in the process.

I fell off the mattress to the floor. I tried to prop myself up, and then realized there was only one hand responding.

My arm…

…it was really gone.

I was on my feet, facing him as I stared at the leftover stub of my arm.

"My…my arm…it—it's really fucking gone!" I screeched.

Immediately I felt the edge of the remaining limb pulsate from a new wave of fresh pain. It was wrapped in bandages, but it still seemed like it was open.

I started crying.

They really chopped my arm off; it's not coming back now. I'm stuck like this.

I looked at my right wrist and saw that Toushirou's bracelet was still there. At least they didn't take the arm that had that on it.

I was so distracted by my loss of a limb, that I didn't notice he slowly rose up, propped himself up with one hand, and had a huge smirk spread across his face.

"Did you miss me, beautiful?" He asked.

"What the Hell is this Hideki?" I snarled through my tears, taking a defensive stance.

He laughed.

"Please, as if you could really defend yourself against me— _especially now,_ " He nodded toward my missing arm.

"Just who the Hell are you?" I shouted at him.

I was so overcome with emotion that I didn't notice I was shaking. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Who me? Well, hmm…" he sat up straight without arm support.

"I guess you could call me your betrothed; intended, really. Wait, what is the popular thing humans say?" He paused for two seconds.

"Prince Charming! That's what it is; your Prince Charming. That is what I am." He moved his hair to the side, those hazel eyes affixed on me.

I stared right back into those dazzling eyes of his, completely disturbed.

"What do you mean, _betrothed_? You mean you're supposed to be…" I trailed off.

"The reason you exist? You're correct!" he grinned.

"You're Hajime…"

His eyes glistened at the name, and he nodded.

"Now you're catching on,"

"Like fucking Hell I'll ever do anything with you!" I shouted at him.

"Yoru!" I called.

No response—I couldn't even hear her inside my head. I reached up to my ear—she wasn't there.

Hajime lightly chuckled.

"She's gone for now," he said, followed with an exhale.

He got up out of bed and put a hand on his hip.

I said nothing; just stared at him in anger. He was in the required white and black attire; his shirt sleeveless and lined with the same black fabric as my outfit.

"Well, Kawaii-chan, I'm glad that you're finally here with me; you have no idea just how long I've been waiting for you." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It means that I have been waiting for you my entire life. I've been alive far longer than you have, my dear; it's been such a drag having patience." He sighed.

"Just what in the Hell are you, Hajime? An Arrancar?" I asked.

He started walking around the bed toward me.

I kept my defensive stance up; I didn't care what he said—I wasn't letting my guard down more than I already have.

"Yes, _partially_. The other half of me is something you're very accustomed to," he smiled and stopped in front of me.

No way. He was…

"You're lying—you're not Bounto." I stated.

"Oh no? Then why else would you be meant for me?" He challenged.

I backed up again in disbelief.

"I-I thought I was the only one…" I drifted off.

It was weird; I was happy to finally find out that there was someone else of my kind, but at the same time felt repelled by it. Which led me to my next question…

"How are you…how are you the same as I am? Were there more Bounto that could reproduce like my mother?" I asked.

He paused before replying.

"Are you sure you want to know?" He asked.

Oh god…please, don't tell me..

I nodded.

"Yoshino was here for quite some time before she escaped with you. During that time, she underwent a lot of experimentation—something you will go through as well since you're a purebred. Aizen-Sama was able to get several blood samples along with some of her eggs. Unfortunately, since the eggs failed implantation in anyone other than Yoshino herself; the blood samples that were saved ended up coming in handy. After playing around with her blood; Aizen-Sama was able to successfully create a genetically engineered being—a good looking one at that," he winked.

"Wait just a damn minute; you're telling me that you're...my brother?" I asked.

He laughed.

'In a sense,"

My jaw—in the most literal of senses—dropped.

I suddenly felt sick.

The fact that he was of the same breed was one thing, but the fact that he was actually _my blood_ _sibling_ was another.

I've always felt alone being an only-child, and adopted at that. Then when I found out exactly what I am, I felt an emotion that no one could possibly understand. To be the only one of a breed is terrifying; no one could understand anything I was going through. But now that Hajime was here, it was like someone slapped me in the face. It was an eye opener; I could finally express all the pent up emotions about the entire thing to someone, and they would completely understand.

The only thing was…

"Hajime,"

"Yes?"

"If you're my sibling, then why the Hell are you letting Aizen take advantage of me?" I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice.

He stepped up to me, and rose his hand up to my face. I stared him down—not moving an inch—as he cradled the side of my face.

"For my benefit of course," he replied.

I slapped his hand off my face.

"What the Hell kind of _benefit_ is there? I am your _only_ flesh and fucking blood, and you're just going to let them do whatever they Hell they please with me? _I am your sister_ , for God's sake! I'm the only one in this universe that could understand exactly what you are and what you're going through! How could you just cast me aside like I'm nothing but garbage?" I shouted.

I pushed him away from me; I could feel myself getting more emotional than I already was.

"W-Why the Hell would you do this? What is so important to gain that you would betray your only family? We can be there for each other; like the actual siblings we are. We could help each other, and always accompany each other…how have you not felt alone this whole time?" I continued.

And on cue, there were the tears.

"H-How could you not long for someone who loves you and is there for you? Haven't you always wanted to find your true family? How have you _not_ suffered from being what you are with no help or understanding from anyone?" I choked out a sob.

"I at the very least managed to find people who can partially understand me, and accept me for who I am, but it doesn't mean that I don't feel alone otherwise."

I wiped the tears off my face with my forearm and looked up at him. He stared directly into my eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You really are a _weakling_ ," he replied.

I didn't care what he thought of me; all I knew now was that I had to try to salvage the situation.

"Let's run away together! Just you and me!" I prompted.

I swiftly walked over to him and gripped his shoulder tightly.

"We can go live out the rest of our lives somewhere in peace! Without anyone judging us, or using us for what we are! We can do it, Hajime! You can lead the way and we can both be free to do whatever we want, and live—"

Hajime gripped my shoulders and pushed me off him.

"You're not getting the point." He said firmly.

I sniffled and blinked furiously to clear my eyes as he released me from his grasp.

"I don't care about you, Azumi. You're not my sister, you're not my friend, and you will never be considered either to me. You are nothing more than my ticket into the hierarchy." He said.

"If I'm nothing to you, then why did you tried to gain my affection in the World of the Living? Why the name calling and heroic actions?" I asked.

"Aizen-Sama thought that if I maybe laid on some charm you'd be more likely to ditch the Shinigami and it would be less of a hassle to take you in. Obviously, you're as stubborn as an ox and didn't fall for me. Every other girl in that horrible school fell for it, but not you." He explained.

He took a step forward, and took a lock of my hair in his hand.

"But to tell the truth; even though what I just said was the real reason behind the compliments, I did a lot of it for my personal amusement." He smirked.

"It was like a game to me; I wanted to see if I could lure you away from that pipsqueak Taichou you love so much." He chuckled.

"But, I guess I won whichever way you look at it." He suddenly ripped out the chunk of my hair he had in his hand.

I yelped in pain while he laughed.

"I have the power and authority to do whatever I like to you—isn't that wonderful?" He continued laughing.

While my hand was reflexively at the spot where my bleeding scalp was; he swiftly slashed his hand downward at my chest.

I stumbled back and caught myself, then looked down at my chest. He cut from the turtle neck down to the center of my chest, right in between my breasts, clear past the hole in the attire.

His pointed finger roughly tapped the center of my chest, catching me by surprise.

I looked back up at him.

"You're nothing more to me than the female I've been destined to impregnate. With that being said, impregnating you is only the beginning of what I plan on doing to you,"

I didn't do it purposely, but I gulped hard.

I pushed him away from me.

"Do you have a bucket or something?" I asked, slightly hunched over.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I'm going to vomit from what you just fucking said! So unless you feel like getting it all over the floor, I'd suggest you find something quick you disgusting piec—" I was cut off by a sudden dry heave.

He grabbed a trash can and pushed it over to me. I immediately utilized it while he stood there and watched.

What he said was so unbelievably messed up on so many accounts.

The thought of a brother raping and abusing his sister was absolutely infuriating and sickening to begin with, but the fact that _I_ am the said sister made me lose it. All of the information I had just learned within the past few minutes was crazy and world-shattering enough, but now this? What the Hell is wrong with people? This is probably one of the most despicable things that I can think of right next to murdering someone.

Hajime suddenly started laughing amidst my moment of weakness.

"What the Hell's so funny?" I asked in between heaves.

"The fact that you're throwing up is hysterical. I guess that's what growing up in the World of the Living does to you—you have no backbone as a result." He laughed again.

That was definitely something to take into account. Hajime was raised by Aizen and his henchmen—no wonder he's absolutely psychotic and deranged. I was raised by two loving, human parents; he was raised by a Soul hungry for power with a completely sadistic mentality.

I coughed and wiped my mouth.

"I feel sorry for you," I began.

I took a deep breath and stood straight up, looking him dead in the eye.

"You were the unfortunate one to be raised in Hueco Mundo rather than the World of the Living,"

He didn't say a word, just stared right back at me with that smug look on his face.

"To be raised without a scrap of affection…you've had it pretty rough."

I pushed the trashcan with my foot back toward him.

"One would think that you're the toughest one around because of it; yet you're the weakest of all." I finished.

With each sentence, I noticed something change in his eyes; very subtle, very miniscule.

He rested a hand on his hip, that grin of his ever present. He looked away, and sharply exhaled.

"Affection, hmm?" He rhetorically questioned aloud.

Before he or I could say anything else, the door creaked open, and some Arrancar with masks covering their faces entered the room.

"Excuse us, Hajime-Sama," One of them said.

After his statement finished, Gin walked in and stood in between the two Arrancar.

"My, my, our little princess has awakened! Did you sleep well, my dear?" Gin asked me.

I stared at him harshly.

"Just _swell,_ " I replied sarcastically.

"Well that's great to hear!" he replied, playing right into my sarcasm.

"You did give us quite a scare; we thought that you wouldn't make it from the wounds Tousen gave you," he smiled crookedly.

Maybe that's where Hajime got it from.

"Wounds? You call this _just a wound_?" I moved my stubbed limb.

"Indeed I do." Gin replied, unfazed.

"Well, it's just about time to get this show on the road; Hajime-san, Aizen-Sama has requested your attendance in the throne room immediately."

"Right, right," Hajime responded immediately.

As he turned to walk away, I instinctively seized his wrist. He turned to look at me; his eyes uncaring and cold.

Even though this whole situation between Hajime and I was an absolute shit-show, and I had all the reason in the world to hate him—he was still my brother.

"Please consider my words, _brother_ ," I whispered just loud enough for only him to hear.

He chortled quietly, and took his hand back.

"I'll see you soon, _Kawaii-chan_ ," he fully turned and then walked out of the room.

Gin watched Hajime walk past him, and then turned back to look at me.

"Well gentleman, let's begin." Gin said.

Immediately the two masked Arrancar walked over to me; I backed up defensively.

"What the Hell do you guys want?" I asked sternly.

They didn't respond, just kept walking toward me. One of them suddenly lunged right at me and twisted my arm behind my back.

"Hey!" I yelled as I struggled against him.

He pushed me forward toward the other end of the room.

With everything that happened since I woke up, I didn't take a chance to look around the room at all. The bed I was on was only one part of the room; the other side of it completely explained the bright lighting.

This was an operation room.

Panic completely took over me instantly.

"N-No!" I whimpered.

"I'm not going over there! You can't do this! Let me go!" I shouted, jerking around.

The one pushing me forward twisted my arm upward to the point where it hurt, and shoved me forward again. I winced and stumbled forward, almost falling over in the process.

The closer I got to the operating table, the closer I was to losing any rational thought I'd ever possessed. I felt like a cornered animal; instantly I reacted without even thinking.

I turned the palm of my restrained hand toward the Arrancar pushing me, and launched a Cero at point blank.

The other Arrancar gasped as the body of the one I blew to kingdom come flopped on the floor.

I allowed not even half a second to pass; I aimed another Cero at the Arrancar and launched it. This Arrancar got away with only half of his body blown off.

He screamed in pain, and instantly my body coiled up and stiffened.

I couldn't move.

"My, you sure are feisty when you're scared," Gin said.

I looked over to see him pointing his forefinger at me.

He must've used some type of Bakudo to restrain me. I fell to the floor due to my awkward, frozen position. I huffed in anger—he actually got me.

"Go find Ulquiorra and tell him that we need different surgeons." Gin ordered the Arrancar.

The Arrancar grunted in pain and managed a bow before leaving.

Gin walked over to me and hovered over me while he inspected my body.

"You know, I was pretty impressed by you last night; your Hollow form is quite spectacular. Dangerous to say the least," he tapped my leg with his foot, lightly pushing on me to make me wobble.

"I'm interested to see exactly what you can do without using your Hollow powers. However, I guess I'll just have to wait. We've got too much to do at the moment to see you perform; maybe in the near future though." He smiled.

I didn't respond; just grit my teeth and glared at him. He was completely unfazed.

I tried to move my body, but to no avail. Whatever he used on me had me stiffer than a rock.

Looking at him, Rangiku flashed through my mind. This was the man she loved; the man who betrayed her.

"Gin, how could you do all of this?" I asked.

He looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"Rangiku…Rangiku trusted you! How could you do this to her? Do you even understand how much you've hurt her?" I shouted at him.

He didn't say anything; just averted eye contact with me as others walked into the door.

"Ulquiorra-san! Thank you for coming! I've prepped our little Azumi-san for you. She's been a little feisty, but now that _you're_ here, she shouldn't be an issue." Gin told him.

Gin turned toward the exit of the room, and I immediately shouted at him.

"I'm not finished talking to you, Gin! Answer me!" I yelled angrily.

He loosely held his hand up and waved at me with it as he faced the other way and walked out the door.

"Get her on the table," Ulquiorra commanded.

"Hai, Ulquiorra-Sama!" the Arrancar immediately complied.

"N-No!" I shouted.

They picked me up almost effortlessly, and put me on the table; completely ignoring my screams of panic. They straightened my twisted body out, and then strapped my legs down with the belts attached to the table. I still couldn't move at all; only scream.

They lifted my arms over my head, and lifted my dress from the bottom and completely over my head. They folded it neatly and put it on the mattress I was previously laying on, then straightened my arms out and strapped the rest of my body down.

Once they made sure the belts were secure, the two Arrancar reached over for gloves and proceeded to put them on like in a horror film. My adrenaline level was completely risen, and I could feel my body wanting to let my inner Hollow take over. They grabbed a couple of small needles attached to tubes of drip liquid, and shoved them into one of my arms—I winced at the sudden action.

Ulquiorra crept over toward me and stood right next to my head. I looked into his emerald eyes and knew that he was warning me to not try anything. He raised his hand over me, and with a small flick of his wrist, it felt like gravity was multiplied by ten—it was insanely hard to breathe.

"Ulquiorra-Sama, our preparations are complete." One of the Arrancar said.

"Begin." Ulquiorra told them.

"N-No, please, d-don't do this," I pleaded.

No one said a word.

I felt something soft and wet touch my lower abdomen on my right side.

They dragged it in a perfect vertical motion, and then drew a rectangle with a line straight down the middle of it with something. As the moist object—which I assumed was a marker—left my skin, I could hear a light piece of metal scrapping against what sounded like a metal tray.

I was stabbed then and there.

I shrieked and screamed as they dragged the blade along the middle line of the drawn rectangle.

"Stop! What the Hell are you doing? That fucking hurts! Where's the fucking pain meds you pieces of shit! Stop! Please!" I screeched, whimpering and gasping for breath.

Ulquiorra side stepped, and one of the Arrancar took his place. He hovered for a moment—looking directly at me—and then started tying something.

He shoved a piece of knotted cloth in my mouth.

"That should keep you quiet," the Arrancar said.

I started hyperventilating and crying.

This was my worst fear completely brought to life, and the worst part of this was that I couldn't move or struggle at all.

The pain of someone slowing dragging a sharp knife through your abdomen is absolutely mortifying.

They finished the vertical cut, and then began cutting horizontally along the lines of the rectangle. They didn't go all the way to the corners, but just enough to open me up like curtains on a window. As soon as they reached in and grabbed my ovary, I started blacking out. The pain of them fondling my internal organs and stabbing at them almost made me puke. I closed my eyes tightly.

" _T-Think about something else, think about something else!"_ I cried in my head.

Immediately I pictured Toushirou in my mind.

" _T-There we go,"_ I tried to coo myself.

I remembered what it was like waking up next to him—like I thought I did earlier.

I imagined him still asleep; those soft features of his that are only ever seen when he's actually resting were ones I could never forget. His hair was a bit messy from laying on it all night, but it was cute to see him not prepped and ready to go like he always was. When he slept, he actually looked like the young adolescent he was; non-stressed, almost completely carefree, and completely unguarded.

I imagined snuggling up next to him, wrapping one arm over him and holding him close. He'd wake up at the contact like he normally would, and turn to give me a kiss on my head as he snuggled up next to me.

He'd say 'good morning,' and hold me just a little while longer; reaching over to cradle my cheek in his hand. I'd tell him 'good morning' back, and nuzzle my face against his hand; giving his palm a quick kiss before finally settling back against him.

My imagination in my pained state felt so real, that I actually believed I was there with Toushirou in his room back in the Soul Society.

We just laid there silently; admiring each other's presence and listening to the birds chirping outside the window.

After a few more minutes, he gently slid himself out from under my grasp and sat up. He rubbed his face and then looked back at me with those still sleepy orbs of his.

He put one hand over mine, and I curled my fingers of my left hand around them.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, yawning right after the question.

I nodded, and tugged his hand so he could help me sit up. He did, and I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

"What would you like to do today? There's no work, and we can go wherever you would like." He smiled lightly.

I looked into his eyes and felt as if time had completely stopped. I didn't ever want to look away; I wanted to keep looking at him and stay in that focus that made me so incandescently happy.

I never wanted to forget the shades of teal in his eyes, and the hazy, translucent feeling they gave me.

He cocked an eyebrow at me in response to my gaze, and I smiled at him. Right as I was about to answer him, he looked away.

"Do you hear that?" He asked.

I looked around the room, focusing hard on trying to hear.

There was a vibrating noise—much like a cellphone going off. The only difference was that it was a constant noise that only seemed to get louder and louder as the seconds passed.

"Do you love me?" Toushirou asked suddenly.

I turned back to look at him; he was hunched over, facing the opposite direction.

I put my hand on his back gently, and responded immediately.

"Of course I do; more than anything in this world," I smiled.

There was a brief pause.

"Then why…"

The vibrating sound was so loud at that moment; I took my hand off his back to cover my ears and gasped at the sight of my hand.

The hand previously touching him was…covered in blood.

"Then why…" Toushirou continued.

I looked back at him, seeing blood seep through his clothes.

"Why would you try to kill me?" He shouted, completely turning around.

He was covered in blood, holding a large gaping wound on his side with his hand; open gashes clear across his torso. His eyes were black, his teal irises the only color outlining his pupils.

"T-Toushirou, I—I didn't—I didn't do this to you!" I tried to tell him, reaching toward him.

The vibrating noise was so loud that the walls started shaking.

"Why…why would you hurt me? Why did you let this happen?"

I couldn't open my mouth to speak.

The shaking of the room and the piercing, loud vibration completely engulfed me to the point where I couldn't move an inch.

Toushirou's head suddenly spun all the way around, and his skin turned white.

"Why didn't you protect me?" He shouted venomously at me.

His head spun back around, and he leapt at me—pinning me underneath him on top of the bed.

"Azumi!" he snarled at me.

All I could do was stare at him.

My heart felt like exploding into thousands of pieces.

The thought that it was me who caused all of this…me who hurt Toushirou in the end; I couldn't bear it.

His face began morphing into something.

"Azumi," he whispered through the completely obscured mouth on his face.

"Azumi!" he said again, his voice tinged with an undertone.

"Azumi!" the new voice called.

His face began to settle.

"You piece of shit!" a female voice yelled at me.

It was Imuza now pinning me against the bed.

I blinked in confusion with my watery eyes.

"Snap out of it right now before it's too—"

The most intense, piercing pain suddenly stabbed through my temple.

I opened my eyes; viewing the ceiling of the operation room I was actually in, and looked to the side.

The Arrancar beside me power-drilled into my temple.

The overwhelming pain took over, and I completely blacked out.


	40. Chapter 40

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 3 of Azumi's Capture-**

After the ordeal with Sanderwicci, Matsumoto and I scoured the rest of the building.

We evaded countless Arrancar fortunately, and proceeded to the next few buildings.

Kurosaki and Kuchiki's reiatsu both flared on and off; we assumed that they were in the middle of battling. I shook off my unease and continued with Matsumoto.

Upon entering the fifth building in our search, I started sensing traces of a familiar reiatsu. I'd only wished it would've been Azumi's.

Tousen was somewhere in the building.

As much as I wanted to confront him, it was completely unwise to do so. I told Matsumoto again to make sure her reiatsu was completely masked just in case, and we continued on—steering clear of where Tousen was. Tousen always had a way of easily sensing people even when their reiatsu was masked, so not going within the vicinity was for the best.

Once we finished the area around the fifth building, we began to scour the sixth one. We were met with a group of lower-ranking Arrancar that weren't too much trouble to defeat.

Abarai and Shihouin's reiatsu also flared up at this point, but I assumed again that perhaps Kurosaki and Kuchiki were having problems with their battles and needed assistance. I find it a little hard to believe that Kurosaki had much of a problem, but these were the Espada we were dealing with after all.

"Taichou," Matsumoto called as we flashed through the seventh building.

I stopped and looked at her so she could continue.

"There's someone following us." She said, looking around.

"There!" She turned completely around and unsheathed her Zanpakuto.

I followed suit, and faced the same direction.

"So, you came to the rescue, didn't you _Shirou-chan?"_

That voice.

Tokiwa Sute jumped down from behind a pillar up by the ceiling, and landed before us.

Immediately I pointed Hyourinmaru at her.

"What have you done to Azumi?" I growled at her.

She started laughing.

"I wish _I_ would've been the one to put her in the sorry state she's in, but I wasn't unfortunately. I heard they did a real number on her though. Serves her right for what she did to me." She smirked and chuckled, pushing her long black hair to the side.

"What did they do to Azumi-chan?" Matsumoto sneered.

"They fucked her up— _literally_. Who knows if she even—"

I cut her off by flash-stepping to her and pinning her against the wall with Hyourinmaru.

"Where is she, Tokiwa?" I threatened.

She laughed.

"Why the Hell should I tell you? So you could go be her prince charming and save her? Yeah, right! If I can't have happiness, then neither can she!" She shouted at me with a glare.

Her eyes changed into a glowing blue color and she pushed herself through Hyourinmaru's blade and back kicked me against the wall.

How did she...

I caught myself and quickly turned around to take a defensive position.

…She still had her head attached to her shoulders.

"Did you like that, Shirou-chan? You can't beat me!" She grinned.

"How did you survive that?" Matsumoto asked for me.

She laughed again.

"I won't tell you how, but let me just say that Aizen-Sama really _is_ a genius." She replied.

Some type of experimentation?

It didn't matter—I had to take her down.

I came in with a diagonal slash and she quickly parried with her Zanpakuto. She pushed me back, and side-stepped quickly to attempt an attack from my right. I blocked it easily with Hyourinmaru, and before any other move could be made, Matsumoto stepped in.

"Haineko!" She called.

I flash-stepped away from Tokiwa as Haineko's ash attacked her from all sides. Tokiwa grinned and tried to parry and dodge the clumps of ash trying to crash into her.

"I'm not letting you have all the fun, Taichou; I owe this girl a good beating for what she's done." Matsumoto said.

Before I could even reply, Matsumoto flash-stepped to her and called back Haineko to try taking a stab at Tokiwa.

"Oh, you think that'll work?" Tokiwa shouted at her right before impact.

Tokiwa's eyes glowed blue again, and immediately after, Matsumoto's Zanpakuto reamed through her abdomen.

There was a pause, then Tokiwa started laughing again.

"See? What did I tell you? I'm still here!" Tokiwa shouted.

She raised her hand up and swung down with her Zanpakuto at Matsumoto, who slashed her Zanpakuto out through Tokiwa's side to escape.

I watched carefully as Matsumoto evaded her, and noticed something peculiar about Tokiwa's skin. As Matsumoto slashed her Zanpakuto out of Tokiwa; Tokiwa's body molded around it like some type of gelatin. Her flesh immediately molded back together as if nothing happened in the first place.

"Fighting against me is useless!" Tokiwa shouted as she launched a blue Cero at Matsumoto.

Matsumoto dodged and sprang back to Tokiwa. She attempted a few slashes at Tokiwa; some successfully connecting while others were parried by Tokiwa's Zanpakuto. Each time one did connect however, the same gelatinous defense mechanism came into play.

I watched Tokiwa's eyes and noticed that they kept reverting back and forth between their original color and the blue glow.

"Growl, Haineko!" Matsumoto shouted.

Haineko complied and with a wave of its hilt was commanded to spiral around Tokiwa.

"Horin!" Matsumoto shouted next.

Immediately the orange Bakudo erupted from Matsumoto's hand and took hold of Tokiwa.

Tokiwa seemed to be struggling against the Bakudo, but as Matsumoto commanded Haineko to go in for an attack; Tokiwa's eyes glowed again and she was able to step out of the Bakudo's restraint along with Haineko's ash.

"Seep, Campanas del Infierno," Tokiwa said.

Immediately her Zanpakuto disappeared and she began to transform into her released form.

Her helmet that only took up the left side of her face expanded over the top of her head along with growing symmetrically on the other side of her face. Two long, slightly curved horns grew on the top of helmet as well; slender, yet sturdy enough to easily stab through without breaking in the process.

From her upper back, her Hierro extended out in two slender, vine-like strands that connected together far above her head; it reminded me of something that royalty would wear to emphasize that they were of nobility. Within the expanded armor above her, three medium sized, electric blue trumpet-looking flowers hung perfectly spaced apart.

Her attire changed as well; her Hierro now covered the upper half of her torso, and covered her knees and shins. Her fingers extended into sharp claws while her feet transformed into the hooves of a goat; the rest of her body resembled a human's.

There was a ringing sound at that moment her Resureccion completed—much like the sound of bells—and the flowers that hung overhead swayed.

"Hear that?" Tokiwa asked, with a malicious grin spread across her face.

" _Hell_ is ringing just for you," she chuckled.

Matsumoto and I both took a moment to assess her and what her abilities just might be.

So far, we knew that she could take over someone's body and mind, and we knew that she could also withstand attacks by molding her body. Generally, those types of powers were only ever seen on an Espada when they were already released; was she up in the Espada ranking?

"Tokiwa, are you a part of the Espada?" Matsumoto suddenly asked, as if reading my own thoughts.

She snickered at the question.

"Me? An Espada? _Hah_! Not anymore!" She paused.

"It's far too much responsibility to be an Espada; so I opted out and let someone else take my place. However, if you must know, my old ranking was…"

She paused for effect, and lifted her skirt to show her crossed out number on her upper inner thigh.

"…Numero 6." She announced aloud, her grin still spread across her face.

-[×]-

**Unknown**

**-Day 3 of Azumi's Capture (Present)-**

The sound of the whistling wind woke me.

I opened my eyes, but couldn't see anything.

I tried to listen to see if I could pick up any other sound aside from the wind, but still heard nothing.

A strange, melodic rhythm kept repeating in my head. I felt as if there were some words to overlay the intricate sounds, but I couldn't think of any.

I felt the ground underneath me; a soft, cushioned fabric kept my underside comfortable while something I'd assumed was a type of blanket covered my body.

I propped myself up with my elbow, and attempted to look around; it was at that point I noticed that there was something covering my eyes. I sat straight up, and took off the cloth tied around my eyes; blinking a few times to adjust my vision.

I was in a dark room lit by the moonlight shining in through the window.

I looked around more and noticed that I was laying on a relatively big seat; a small table on top of a rug stood adjacent to the seat.

Where was I?

I lifted the blanket off the top of myself and stood up; I was the only one in this large, barren room. I wandered over to the closed door and tried to open it, but to no avail.

Why was the room sealed? Was it to keep something out, or to keep me inside?

I dragged my bare feet against the cold ground as I walked toward the high window. I reached up along the wall and tried to reach the bottom of the sill, but to no avail yet again.

I slumped back down to having my feet flat against the floor, and cupped my chin in thought.

How long had I been in this place? Why was I here? How did I get here? What was the meaning of dwelling within this room?

I walked back toward the large seat, and sat down on it; hunched in thought as question upon question processed in my head.

As I straightened my posture, a light, jingle sound reached my ears.

I looked back and forth around the room; scanning to see if maybe there was something I'd missed. There was nothing but the four walls that confined me along with the furniture directly in front of me. I raised my hand to scratch my aching head, and heard it again.

I brought my arm forward and found the culprit of the sound.

Around my wrist, a bracelet with dangling ornaments hung snugly. The actual tie itself was a black and silver ribbon that clasped with a small metal piece. The source of the sound were the three metal charms dangling from the ribbon; one silver moon along with two silver stars—all made with metal.

I twirled my wrist lightly to watch as they glistened with the faint moonlight from the window. They made the same light jingle sound as before, which for some odd reason made me feel like smiling.

But why would I want to smile over some small, miniscule item?

The melody playing in my head escaped through my vocal chords, and I suddenly felt the urge to keep humming the tune. I wondered what type of music the tune was called.

Wait.

Music; tune; called.

What was it called?

To call…to name.

It dawned on me then and there.

I suddenly became panicked.

I threw my wrist down and stared at the small table in front of me. I could feel my heart racing so violently in my chest at that very moment.

I had been so calm for the past few minutes, but now that I realized one, simple fact, everything overwhelmed me all at once.

What is _my_ name?

Who am I?

My head hurt so terribly.

I reached up and touched the spot where it hurt the most, and instantly regretted it. My right temple was so incredibly tender that it felt as if I would pass out if I continued to touch it. Overruling my better judgement, I lightly grazed two of my fingers over it. There was some type of bandage over it, and it felt as if my head dented inwardly—why would that be? Was that normal?

I reached over to my left arm, and felt the stubbed bicep. It was wrapped in bandages as well along with my aching shoulder—both atrociously tender. They wasn't as bad as my temple, but it did hurt even resting my hand against it.

I shifted in my seat—the movement causing pain and discomfort in my lower abdomen. I lifted the dress I wore to investigate, and saw that I had a line of stitches ascending vertically along my side.

Was my head always like this?

Had I always not had my left arm?

Why did I have stitches?

What happened to me?

Somewhere amidst my panic, sudden words came to mind.

" _Daydream…_

_I dream of you amid the flowers,_

_for a couple of hours; such a beautiful day,"_

A vision of some unknown individual flashed through my mind as the words overlapping the rhythmic tune popped into my head.

White hair, teal eyes…

Suddenly, I heard footsteps near the locked door.

I shifted in my seat and shivered; some type of odd aura engulfed the atmosphere and I couldn't help but have my heart flutter from the unknown.

The deadbolt turned, and the door handle sounded as the door creaked open.

A tall, black-haired male walked into the room clothed in all white. He gently shut the door behind him, and snapped his fingers as he looked directly at me.

The door immediately locked once again, and the male smiled crookedly at me—not breaking his gaze for even a moment.

"Hello, my dearest _Kawaii-chan_ ," he said.

I knew he was trying to address me, but I feared responding.

He walked to me casually, and sat down next to me—I unintentionally scooted away from him.

Something about this male was absolutely nerve-wrecking. I felt fear lump harshly in my throat just at meeting his gaze.

"Don't be scared, Kawaii-chan; I can make this good for you too," he told me, that smile still on his face as he ran his fingers lightly through his hair.

'Good for you too?' What did that mean? What was he implying?

I didn't respond; I just stared at him.

He scooted closer, and I promptly scooted away.

"Come here." He ordered.

I didn't say anything, and I certainly didn't move. I had no idea who this male was—I couldn't bring myself to trust him.

"I said,"

He grabbed my arm harshly and pulled me to him.

"Come here!" he finished.

I struggled and pushed myself away from him, and immediately he slapped me in the face.

"If you're not going to behave, then I guess you're forcing me to hurt you," he said, a malicious grin on his face.

"G-Get away from me!" I shouted at him as I tried to push myself away.

He chuckled under his breath, and swiped at me with his sharp nails; cutting my stubbed left arm. As the small amount of blood dripped down, he held up his two forefingers. My exposed blood gathered from my arm and floated to his pointed fingers; swirling around them. He moved his fingers lightly, and then pointed them at me.

My own blood that swirled around in the air suddenly hardened into two sharp spears, and they were aimed at me.

"Technically, you don't need _both_ of your eyes; which one would you like to keep?" He smirked.

I couldn't help but shed tears.

I was defenseless—what was I supposed to do?

"P-Please, d-d-don't," I stammered out.

"Are you ready to behave?" He asked.

I couldn't do anything other than nod.

"Brilliant choice, Kawaii-chan!" he said, scooting closer to me.

"I'm glad you're able to _see_ things my way," he took a lock of my hair in his hand.

The blood spikes liquefied, and he sent them into his opened mouth. He licked his lips, and exhaled in what seemed like euphoria before he looked back at me.

He crept to my ear; cupping one of his hands against my cheek as he slid the other one between my thighs. I shook nervously from the contact; tears freely flowing down my cheeks as a release from the terror wracking through my body. His calloused hand smoothly slithered up my thigh as my heart raced from the panic the motion caused.

' _H-H-Help…anyone…'_ I whimpered internally.

He chuckled to himself.

"Now where were we?"

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 3 of Azumi's Capture-**

This was bad.

Tokiwa completely immobilized Matsumoto.

Matsumoto was on the ground, hunched over and screaming in a trance. Tokiwa kept trying to utilize the opportunity to attack her, but I kept her at bay while I tried to reason out the situation.

Tokiwa's abilities were body and mental manipulation—including hallucinations—shapeshifting, and poison.

She could easily shapeshift into an amoeba-like form to not only inject herself in another's body and manipulate them as she sees fit, but as well as to become intangible to offensive attacks. The only downside to her intangibility was that it was for a limited time. Once she was in a body, she could stay in as long as she wanted, but while she was still in her own body, she had a limited time.

Her poison falls into play with her hallucinations. Her flowers—or, 'Hell's Bells' as she called them—emit a poisonous spore as they ring. If the spores come into contact with any wound or orifice, the person would immediately suffer hallucinations of their own personal Hell.

During the fight between Tokiwa and Matsumoto, the poison came into contact with one of Matsumoto's wounds and she immediately was immobilized. I quickly attacked Tokiwa with a few ice dragons to keep her at bay while I moved Matsumoto out of the line of fire. I quickly set up a kido barrier to shield her from Tokiwa so I could deal with the situation.

Immediately after taking care of Matsumoto, I went into Bankai and attacked Tokiwa.

I hadn't gotten injured yet, but I took no chances with that poison of hers. Every time she came in to try an attack, she would fake a punch or kick, and quickly try to infect me with her poison.

I assumed the way she generally handled her battles was to infect, and then deliver the finishing blow without any retaliation.

If I could keep up evading her poison but inflict damage, this battle wouldn't last very long.

My one upside would probably have to be that her intangibility had a limit. I had to keep at it until I could actually connect with a damaging hit. However, it wasn't the fact that my attacks weren't physically connecting; they each connected flawlessly and sliced her skin, but without injury.

That gelatinous form of hers; could I somehow manipulate that to my advantage? It was worth a shot.

"Why don't you just give up, Shirou-chan? You can't beat me!" Tokiwa said as she attempted a stab with her claws.

I dodged and decided to put my plan into action.

I kicked her against the wall of the hallway we were in, and launched the test.

"Sokatsui!" I shouted, releasing the lightening at her.

Her eyes glowed again just before the Sokatsui made contact—she was able to morph right through it.

"Hyourinmaru!"

I launched countless ice dragons at her until they all created a mound of ice on top of her.

She was in the middle of the pile of ice and not making any noticeable movement. I launched more at the spot; doubling over the pile on top of her. I used my reiatsu to change the temperature of the room we were in.

Her hand emerged sluggishly through the ice, and hardened in an attempt to pull the rest of herself out of the ice.

I repeated the process and shot more of the dragons at her as she tried to escape; each time took longer and longer for her emerge.

If my theory was correct, I'd have a shot at a finishing blow soon. It would eventually get harder and harder for her to phase through the attacks, and on top of that, she would eventually time out from being able to phase through at all. Instead of having an elastic-like response, she'd eventually start to solidify; hopefully making a damaging blow exceedingly simple.

Suddenly, the pile of ice covering her ruptured and scattered everywhere; her reiatsu the cause. She moved away from the wall—no doubt to avoid being pinned—and took a second to compose herself.

She was angry now; panting heavily while glaring at me.

"What did you think you'd accomplish? You think you're strong enough to cause Hell to freeze over? Don't make me laugh!" She shouted at me.

Her flowers in unison flipped upward toward the ceiling, spraying her pollen-like poison everywhere.

Quickly, I stretched out my ice wings as far back as they could go, and used my reiatsu as an aid to blow a forceful gust of wind toward the poison. As it blew back toward her and she shielded herself, I utilized the opportunity to flap my wings again.

Once I made sure the poison was out of the immediate atmosphere, I flash-stepped to her and slashed downward using my reiatsu for extra force behind the blade.

I made the connect with both her forearms and part of her left leg. Red splattered to the ground and dripped off Hyourinmaru.

"What the Hell?" She shouted in a panic.

Her eyes lost their glow, and she felt around her temples with her hands.

It was working.

I looked to see that the gash I'd just induced on her was somewhat deep. Any normal person would've lost a limb from the amount of force I put behind the attack; the fact that it was as deep as it was proved that her defensive mechanism was starting to fail. On top of that, she looked absolutely terrified when her eyes flickered to normal.

I was in luck.

"It seems to me," I began, as I flashed behind her.

"That Hell has officially begun to freeze over." I finished before slashing her with a wave of ice.

She used Sonido—their form of flash-step—to attempt dodging the attack. She escaped most of it, but some of it cut the center of her back. Her landing didn't quite stick, and I used that to my advantage to swing my dragontail at her.

She jumped at precisely the right moment and was able to land on top of my tail for a brief moment to boost herself toward me.

She came at me—claws out for a swipe attack—and succeeded in making the connect. She grazed my upper left arm before scurrying away.

" _Damn!"_

Now it would be just as easy for her to infect me like she had Matsumoto—I had to watch it.

I didn't let too much time pass; I immediately lunged toward her with another attack.

"Shakkaho!" I shouted, launching the Hado at her.

Immediately after I launched the Shakkaho, I released two ice dragons at her sides; she always dodged horizontally rather than vertically. With any luck, hopefully she'd crash into one of them and allow me just enough time for another attack.

She dodged to her right—proving my theory—and crashed straight into the dragon. I flash-stepped forward in a stabbing attack, and was able to stab straight through her abdomen. She coughed up blood onto my face, and sharply inhaled. Before I could take my sword back out of her, she grabbed it and shoved it in deeper.

I jolted forward from the sudden movement, and she took advantage of that to grab my hands and pull me forward.

"Once Hell has opened it's doors for you,"

Her flowers rang and released their spores directly on top of me.

"You can _never_ ascend to Heaven,"

It was too late—the spores she released immediately landed on my wounds.

She coughed up more blood on me and smirked.

"You're just as powerful as Hinamori's memories led you on to be, Hitsugaya Toushirou. You've won this fight."

I could feel my vision wavering—this wasn't good.

"As I stand here dying, let me give you your prize for winning the game: a glimpse into your own personal Hell." She laughed manically.

With my swaying body, I managed enough strength to take my sword out of her and hop away from her immediate grasp.

"Don't worry, you'll only receive just a taste of what it's like. Once I die, the vision will dissipate with me, but your memories of it will not."

She held her hand up and stared at it for a brief moment before averting her gaze back to me.

"Let's hope the angel you've come here for…"

My vision became so blurred I could barely make her out.

"…can save your soul."

My vision faded completely, and I began to fall.

"Ne, _Shirou-chan?_ "


	41. Chapter 41

**Unknown**

**-Day 4 of Azumi's Capture-**

This place I dwelled in had no sun.

Several hours have passed, yet the moon still hung far up in the sky; if I had to take a guess, I would say it was close to dawn.

I stayed up throughout the entire night due to my inability to find relief from slumber. I stared up at the perfectly smooth white ceiling remembering all the things that happened mere hours ago.

I inched my hand down my thighs; the fresh cuts had now begun to crust themselves closed, but they still pulsated with pain along with my torn genitalia. My wrist ached from the tight grip he used to subdue me; I rubbed it against my side in an effort to try and ease the pain, but had little luck.

I held my wrist above me and stared at the bracelet on it again.

I wondered how I'd gotten the bracelet, and why it seemed to relieve my tired and horrified mind as I stared into it.

Was what the male from earlier said true? Was I only meant to exist here, for his purposes?

Hours ago when he finally grew tired of me, he straightened himself out and stood up with a stretch. He took a deep breath, and combed his hair back with his fingers before gazing down at my shaken and distraught figure still laying on the couch.

"I've waited seventeen _excruciatingly_ long years for that; it was about time you served your purpose." He paused to smirk.

"What was it you called me before? Oh, that's right, ' _brother'_ —how adorable." He chuckled and sat back down for a moment next to me.

"Oh my little _Kawaii-chan_ ; do you even understand just how much you've helped your Nii-Sama tonight? Thanks to you, Nii-Sama is finally ready to take his place on his throne,"

I sat up at that point and looked directly into him.

"A-Are you really my brother?" I asked timidly.

He looked at me in confusion for a moment, and then started laughing hysterically.

"Oh this is too great! You're serious—aren't you?" He paused to laugh more; crouching and slapping his knee in emphasis.

"They said that it might have that side effect, but that it wasn't for sure—oh how the cards have played in my favor!" he inhaled to try and stifle his laughter.

"Tell me; what's my name?" He asked.

I didn't say anything; I hadn't even the slightest clue what his name was.

He put his palm against his forehead in what looked like thought as he chuckled away.

"Oh, this is _priceless_! I am so happy about this; Kawaii-chan was starting to get boring. The only downside is that winning my little game isn't as sweet without your memories—oh well." He shrugged.

"I am Hajime Saito, however, from time to time—when I'm in a good mood—you may refer to me as Adam. You were made to be my little Eve. Do you understand, _Eve_?" He asked me.

Eve?

Was that _my_ name?

I slowly nodded, although none of what he said left a settled feeling.

"Listen carefully my little Eve; remember these words I am about to tell you. You exist to serve myself and Aizen-Sama. I control you; you will do whatever I ask of you as soon as I ask it. There will be no struggle, and no hesitance—just immediate action. Understood?" He asked.

This felt wrong.

I was a slave?

I nodded and he promptly slapped me.

"No, no, no, Eve! When you respond to me, you need to say: 'Hai, Hajime-Sama,' now try again." He ordered.

"H-Hai, Hajime-Sama!" I complied immediately in fear of getting slapped again.

"There's a good girl!" he said as he moved the hair from my eyes.

He stood up again and took his hand back.

"I'll be back tomorrow for some more fun; until then, my little Eve," he smirked and turned on his heel to the door.

He snapped his fingers and the door unlocked immediately. He stepped out and the door audibly locked again.

I couldn't hold it in any longer.

I violently wept as soon as I was sure he was gone.

Thinking about the event that took place just a few hours ago—with every abusively sinful thing Hajime-Sama did to me—I realized I mentally couldn't handle it.

Was this what insanity was?

The same song from when I first woke up kept playing over and over again in my head; it was comforting to bounce back onto it, and sing out the one verse I knew to ease my sorrow.

Everything was so confusing; who was this Aizen-Sama person? How did I become a slave? They 'made me'—what did that even mean? My name is Eve?

I put my hand against my face and sobbed into it; the metal bracelet ornaments cooling my face upon the touch.

The image of that person came to mind again; a male with white hair and teal eyes. Something about imagining him made me feel better; a comforting image for whatever the reason.

I wiped my face, and turned onto my side in a fetal position. I tried to sleep since I was emotionally and physically drained.

"Maybe…maybe this all is just a terrible daydream," I whispered aloud.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 4 of Azumi's Capture-**

Tokiwa truly did have the powers of Hell on her side.

It felt like hours had gone by that I was stuck envisioning my world completely torn to pieces. The cruelest part about the hallucination was that some of it was actually already happening.

It consisted of Aizen winning the upcoming battle and taking control of everyone and everything, along with killing off and torturing everyone who opposed.

In my own personal realm of Hell, he'd taken Azumi, Hinamori, Obaa-san, and Matsumoto, and tortured them in front of me. They were skinned, amputated, stabbed, and every other torturous act possible—all while I stood there and watched. I was unable to move, scream, or do anything to save them, all while literally burning alive from the fire that engulfed me.

The part that got to me the most however was Azumi.

She kept repeating over and over again:

' _Toushirou, help me! Why are you letting them do this to me? Don't you love me? Do something! Please!'_

Every time she said those words; every time she screamed—my heart shattered to pieces.

"Taichou!" I heard Matsumoto shouting.

"You have to snap out of it!" She shook me.

I blinked rapidly and was thrust back into reality.

"Thank goodness!" I heard Matsumoto say.

Once my vision came back, she was the first thing I saw. She was hunched down in front of me with her hands on my shoulders. She exhaled in relief, and outstretched one of her hands to help me up; I took it, and she hoisted me to stand.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Taichou! I'm assuming you beat Tokiwa but still was affected by her poison?" She asked.

I nodded in response.

"How much time has passed?" I asked.

"A couple hours for sure; I finally was released from her trance and saw you on the ground suffering from the same thing. I grabbed you and found a secluded hallway that we could recuperate in until you came back to your senses. I healed some of your wound, but not all of it; my apologies." She explained.

"You've done more than enough; thank you, Matsumoto," I replied.

She nodded as a response and I continued.

"Let's get going." I told her.

"Hai!" She replied.

We checked to see if the coast was clear, and set off again.

The others reiatsu had stabilized, which meant that they were able to get away at the very least. Kuchiki's reiatsu was very weak, but other than that it was still there.

The new building we entered and began to search seemed to be a research facility. Granted, there were sure to be several, but there was a higher chance that they would have Azumi in one if them. If I knew Aizen, he was probably even more of a psychotic scientist than Kurotsuchi.

After about thirty minutes of searching each room and avoiding detection, Matsumoto and I picked up on three Arrancar conversing in one of the rooms.

We crept up and stood near the entrance of the doorway, making sure our reiatsu was masked as we listened in.

"Aizen-Sama will be furious," one said.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? We're given miniscule technology due to Szyelaporro-Sama using mostly everything; our results should be excusable!" another said.

"You're forgetting that Aizen-Sama doesn't merely accept excuses—he only accepts results!" The third one shot back.

"Well, at the very least we were able to run some reiatsu scans to gather some information on the Doll." One said.

Doll? As in a Bounto's Doll?

Matsumoto and I quickly exchanged looks as they continued.

"This wasn't so hard with Hajime-Sama's Doll since we knew it's name," one said.

"Maybe Yoru is only part of it's name—or maybe a nickname?" one asked.

That's all it took for me to react.

I signaled Matsumoto, and we both immediately stormed the room; taking out two of them at once. I pinned the last one up against the wall as he shrieked, and pointed Hyourinmaru at his throat.

"Y-Y-You're the intruders!" he stammered out.

"Matsumoto?" I called.

"Hai, Taichou; it's hers." She confirmed.

"H-Hey! Leave that—"

I cut off the Arrancar by pushing the tip of my sword against his throat. He reverted his gaze back to me with fear; his hands still up and quivering.

"Where is Takashita Azumi?" I asked.

The Arrancar gulped, and when he wasn't responding, I pushed the tip even further into his neck—actually causing it to pierce through. He sucked in air from the pain and shrieked.

"I'll never tell you!" he shouted at me with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Is that right?" I asked rhetorically.

I formed a small Shakkaho in the fingers of my free hand and shot his torso. He screeched and reacted to the blow; pushing Hyourinmaru deeper into his neck as a result.

"You sure about that?" I asked.

He looked around the room, then at Matsumoto, and lastly myself.

"One way or another," he mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" I asked, getting another Shakkaho ready.

"One way or another, I'm not going to make it out of this alive." He smiled and chuckled; Hyourinmaru's blade moving as his neck did.

"Praise Aizen-Sama," he said.

He pushed himself forward and into the blade.

It passed completely through his neck as blood gushed everywhere from the wound. He tried to talk, but nothing more than gurgle sounds came out because of it. In mere seconds, his body disintegrated and disappeared into the atmosphere.

I shook his blood off Hyourinmaru, and sheathed him as I turned back around to Matsumoto. She held her hand out to show the pair of earrings Azumi always wore.

"Well, at least we were able to get her Doll back first—that way as soon as we find her we can immediately leave." Matsumoto commented.

I nodded as a response, and crossed my arms in thought.

Could the two Arrancar we knocked unconscious possibly know where Azumi was kept? Would it be wise to wait here until they came to, or continue to search at random for her?

Matsumoto looked around the room and then at Yoru no Shedo in her hand.

"Do you think that maybe she knows where Azumi-chan is?" Matsumoto asked.

"It's worth a shot to ask." I replied. "Try to call out to her and see if she responds."

"Sounds good to me; Yoru no Shedo, please come forth." Matsumoto commanded.

It took a few seconds, but Yoru no Shedo materialized before us and positioned herself on the counter she had previously been on.

"What's happened to my Master?" Yoru no Shedo asked immediately.

"She was captured by the enemy and is currently being held as prisoner." I responded.

"I understand and know that, however, that wasn't what I was asking." she responded.

"What do you mean?" Rangiku asked; her along with myself confused by Yoru no Shedo's statement.

Yoru no Shedo blinked and turned her head all the way around a few times before replying.

"My Master…there's a disturbance in her brain patterns. They've done something irreparable to her." Yoru no Shedo stated.

"Her brain patterns? What are you implying and how do you know?" I asked.

"I have always been able to sense my Master by her reiatsu _as a given_ due to the fact that I was created by it. Along with that, I've always maintained a connection with her mentally as I'm sure the two of you also do with your Zanpakuto. However, although I cannot contact her while we are apart, or as a separate entity; I can sense her mental state and determine her well being based off of it. The waves I sense spike depending on the situation she's in. They've spiked up and down for the past few days –which is expected due to the situation—however, I'm sensing something I've never encountered before." Yoru no Shedo paused.

"Her brain patterns have completely come to a standstill—its as if her heart stopped beating and the reading immediately ceased. Something tremendous has happened to her—that much is certain. The only light in the situation is that I can still feel her presence; she's still alive." She concluded.

Although I was completely horrified about the confirmation that something happened to Azumi, the fact that she was still—at the very least—alive was a relief.

"You said that you're able to feel her reiatsu, even now?" I asked.

"Yes. Even when her reiatsu is masked, I can still make it out clearly." She responded.

I exhaled in relief.

"Finally, we've got a lead." I stated.

"Yes! This is great news!" Matsumoto grinned; pumping her fists.

"Yoru no Shedo, please lead us to Azumi so we can get out of here." I told her.

Yoru no Shedo stretched out her wings and stared into me with those pitch black eyes of hers.

"Consider this the only order I'll oblige to from someone who isn't my Master," she said, flapping up into the air.

"Follow me." She said, flying out of the room.

-[×]-

**Eve**

**-Day 4 of Azumi's Capture-**

After a restless sleep, three people with white armor on parts of their bodies entered the room and came for me.

One of them—the leader of the group it would seem—commanded them to restrain my arms and hoist me up. I quickly slipped on the shoes that were on the ground in front of me, and then walked with them out the door.

We went down several hallways, and through many buildings until we came upon a rather large room. The doors opened on their own, and the men bowed before entering.

They dragged me further into the room, and I noticed four males ahead. One of them was Hajime-Sama and the other three I hadn't met before.

The armored men dropped me on the floor in front of the four men at the end of the room, and then bowed cordially.

"We will take our leave, Aizen-Sama; please excuse us." One said.

Immediately after he finished his sentence, the three that brought me vanished into thin air.

The room was silent, and all eyes were on me. I involuntarily shivered and rubbed my stubbed arm before the brown-haired man in the middle spoke.

"Hello there, thank you for coming." He began.

"Hajime-san has told me that you're having trouble with your memory; do you remember who I am?" He asked.

I shook my head, not taking my eyes off him for even a second.

"As I suspected; I've brought you here to reintroduce myself to you since you no longer remember me. I am Aizen Sousuke, yourLord. To my left is Tousen Kaname and to my right is Ichimaru Gin—also your Lords. You've already been reintroduced to Hajime Saito, and know that he is your caretaker of sorts," Aizen-Sama paused and looked over at Hajime-Sama.

Hajime-Sama smirked at me, and then Aizen-Sama continued.

"Hmm, Eve I believe it was? Yes, Eve; I want to inform you that there are some individuals that have snuck into our fortress that are up to no good—six of them to be precise. They've come here in an effort to try and steal you away from us. Under no circumstance will you be permitted to leave with them, am I understood?" He asked.

I nodded and he continued.

"That's a good girl, Eve. After all, we only want what's best for you, and what's best for you is to stay here with us." He stood up and casually walked down the stairs toward me.

"For you see," he continued as he walked.

"You are a valuable asset to me, my dear. Without you, I simply couldn't make my vision a reality."

Aizen-Sama was in front of me now, and slightly bent down for a closer view of my sprawled, seated form. He reached down, and cupped my chin with his hand as he looked into my eyes.

"Without you, we all couldn't have this much fun." He smirked.

Something about this man scared me to my core; worse than Hajime-Sama.

"So, won't you be a good girl for us?" He asked.

"H-Hai, Aizen-Sama." I replied—in fear of my life.

"Good; I'm glad that we're able to work together. I'll be seeing you around," he said, releasing my chin and standing back up.

The doors suddenly burst open, and another man with similar white armor covering his body entered.

"Please excuse the interruption, Aizen-Sama, but I've come with urgent news." The man said.

"Please, proceed," Aizen-Sama replied.

"Hai; I bear grave news—Grimmjow-Sama, Nnoitora-Sama, Szyelaporro-Sama, Arraniero-Sama, Sanderwicci-Sama, and Tokiwa-Sama have all been defeated, my Lords." He reported.

"What terrible news! And they were such valuable assets; that's too bad." the one known as Ichimaru-Sama said; he shrugged and then continued.

"Well, oh well!"

"What a wasted effort on Tokiwa; we spent all that time on improving her abilities and she still proved to be useless." Hajime-Sama sighed, putting his palm against his forehead.

"Oh? Don't be so bitter; she did bring our lovely guest here for us," Ichimaru-Sama told him, turning to glance at me.

"She died serving Aizen-Sama; her death was an honorable one," Tousen-Sama chimed in.

"Tousen-san's right; she also died for you, Hajime-san. She was the one who favored you the most after all," Ichimaru-Sama said.

Hajime-Sama sighed and chuckled in response.

Aizen-Sama turned and began walking back to his throne at that moment, and as he did, Hajime-Sama walked toward me.

"Well, you're right about one thing; she did bring my little Eve here," Hajime-Sama said as he stopped to look directly at me.

"Come, my pet," he said to me.

"H-Hai, Hajime-Sama!" I replied immediately.

I stumbled up to my feet, and immediately bowed to the Lords.

"P-Please excuse me," I said.

I turned and began walking behind Hajime-Sama.

The two doors opened, and as soon as we went through them, Hajime-Sama took me by my arm and started dragging me down the hallway. I did my best to keep up his pace, although I'd trip from time to time.

We walked through a few buildings in silence; I was too afraid to say even one word to Hajime-Sama. Eventually we came upon a building that had several rooms of scientific equipment. We went into one of them, and Hajime-Sama immediately ordered me to lay down on a stretcher. I complied and laid down as ordered.

One of the scientists came to the table and strapped me down onto it with leather belts.

Panic suddenly made itself known again in my throat; something terrible was about to happen.

The scientist waved some type of mechanism above me from head to toe, and set it down for a moment.

"I have to check her internally, Hajime-Sama. With your permission," the scientist prompted.

"Absolutely." Hajime-Sama replied.

The scientist rummaged for items on several of the countertops in the room. He gathered two of the others in the room, and they each positioned themselves next to me. At first, two were near my legs while the other was near my head.

Some type of tubing was shoved inside me from my lower region, and I couldn't help but squirm and shriek from the painful intrusion. The scientist near my head held me down and covered my mouth with a suffocating cloth as the other scientists below conducted their tests on me.

Once they concluded down there, the scientist took the cloth back from over my mouth and I gasped for air like I'd been trapped underwater. Another one of them came up toward my head with another tube, and signaled the scientist to proceed.

One of them stuck their gloved hands into my mouth and held it open while the other shoved the tube down my esophagus.

I started seeing stars in my vision, and began gagging and squirming at the action; they held down the rest of my body so that they could get the tube down faster.

The pain of the foreign plastic tubing going down throat was absolutely atrocious; it felt like a sharp knife scraping the inside of my throat and then something smooth rubbing the wound directly after. It took everything in my power not to vomit or faint.

As the tears rolled down the sides of my face, the other scientist came to Hajime-Sama's side.

"Sir, implantation appears to have been successful; we will need to do frequent checks to monitor her progress, however. Although at the moment everything appears to be going according to plan; it still only happened a few hours ago. We still need to be absolutely positive that the implantation is not rejected. We believe that hollowfication will expedite the process, however the best solution is to wait a few more days. We'll need to perform more tests on her every day for the next few weeks. " He reported.

"I see; wonderful news. I will have someone inform Aizen-Sama at once. And the others?" Hajime-Sama asked.

"The others have yet to produce any results. We need more time before we can adequately report, Hajime-Sama." He responded.

"See to it that after the testing on her is completed that all efforts are in making sure all the eggs have been successfully fertilized. Understood?" Hajime-Sama asked.

"Hai, Hajime-Sama."

Eggs?

I blinked rapidly to get the tears out of my eyes and looked to the wall behind the scientists and Hajime-Sama.

On the wall were several round, flat, and clear test viles filled with liquid. There were so many of them that it was hard to even count; the entire wall was lined with them. Could it be that those are…

Upon seeing my gaze, Hajime-Sama bent down to my face level.

"Ah, yes, do you know what all those are?" He smirked.

I couldn't nod or reply due to the tube in my throat, so he continued.

"That is our legacy; yours and mine. I guess you could call them our _children_. Isn't that exciting, my little Eve?" He chuckled.

Those…were all of my eggs?

But when did they?

Remembering the pain and stitches from my lower abdomen, it all made sense.

This is why Aizen-Sama said he needed me.

But what was he trying to accomplish? What would he need me of all people for? What made me so special?

Hajime-Sama's chuckling broke my train of thought; I looked back up at him to see him looking over at the wall himself.

"My spawn; they're sure to be glorious. With them, nothing will ever stop us." He put his hands in his pockets and looked back at me.

Suddenly, the scientists began to yank the tubing out of my throat. I cried, and forced myself not to hyperventilate from the pain. Once the tubing was out, I couldn't help but vomit from the direct contact with my uvula.

"You disgust me. You always have, and you always will. A pity that you of all people had to be the only other hybrid able to complete the task. At least I was the one who inherited our 'Mother's' looks—if she even had any." Hajime-Sama sighed.

"Are we done here? I have other things to attend to today." Hajime-Sama said.

"Hai, Hajime-Sama; we're finished with her examination for today." One of the scientists responded.

He unstrapped me, and lifted me up to a seated position. Luckily, he gave me a towel so I could wipe my face; I immediately utilized it before getting up.

The scientist quickly re-wrapped my head and arm with fresh bandages, and then Hajime-Sama pulled me along side him back toward my room.

Hybrid?

What did that mean?

Was that the reason why I was chosen to be subjected to experimentation, rape, and abuse? Just what was the plan they had for me and my 'children?' And also, did these people Aizen-Sama said were here to kidnap me, want to utilize me for the same purpose?

Hajime-Sama opened the door to my room and kicked me inside. I fell to the ground, and he laughed as he slammed the door behind me and locked it.

I couldn't take much more of this type of treatment.

I had to somehow figure out a way to get out of this terrible place.

But without any type of power, skill, or weapon, how was I supposed to escape?


	42. Chapter 42

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 5 of Azumi's Capture-**

With Yoru no Shedo on our side, hopefully finding Azumi wouldn't take too much longer.

We flash-stepped on the outside past several buildings rather than even attempting to go through them. Yoru no Shedo's speed was a plus; the faster she was, the faster we would reach Azumi.

It wasn't until we took a quick break to eat and drink water that I noticed familiar reiatsu in the area.

"Matsumoto, do you sense that?" I asked her.

"Hai, Taichou; it feels like Kuchiki-Taichou, Kurotsuchi-Taichou, Kenpachi-Taichou, and Unohana-Taichou. Could they have come to apprehend us?" She asked.

"No, I don't think so; the Soutaichou wouldn't waste his resources trying to take all of us back to the Seireitei. They might be here for a surprise attack." I concluded.

"Well I certainly hope so; their aid will definitely be a huge distraction." She replied.

Yoru no Shedo hoped from the perch she was on and to my shoulder—I could tell she was anxious to continue on.

"How much further is she?" I asked her.

"Not very much; we should reach her most likely within twenty minutes if she remains in the same place." The feathered creature replied.

I put the bottle of water back in my pocket and turned to Matsumoto. She nodded that she was ready to keep going.

"Let's go."

Yoru no Shedo jumped off my shoulder and took off. Matsumoto and I quickly followed behind her as she darted through the constant nighttime sky.

By my count, Azumi had been here for five days, going on six. I've only been here around two and I'm already going insane at the atmosphere of this place. Just keeping track of the time was difficult enough; I could only imagine what it must be like while in confinement.

Just thinking about her suffering here in this place made my skin crawl and my anger completely spike to a new level. The Hell that Tokiwa put me through kept playing back in my head over and over again. Azumi screaming like that…

I shook my head and continued forward.

I wasn't going to let that happen.

I was able to do something about it rather than just sit back and watch her crumble to pieces in front of me. She was the one person in this life that I truly cared for and loved with every fiber of my being. The one that I wanted to be with until the day I die; the one I wanted to share everything with. I'd give my life for her in a heartbeat; I'd rather her live a life of peace and happiness even if it meant that I couldn't join her.

I was going to rescue her.

In just a few more minutes…

-[×]-

**Eve**

**-Day 5 of Azumi's Capture-**

"Where am I?"

I shivered and held myself as I stood in the middle of what looked to be a forest. How or when I came to this place was unknown; I looked around for anyone at all and saw no one.

Could it have been Hajime-Sama that brought me here? But why would he do such a thing?

I took a cautious step forward; the dried, brown leaves on the ground crumbling beneath my step. I looked around to see if there was any reaction to the noise and saw nothing. I continued forward through all of the tall trees as the wind whistled through my long hair. I shivered again during it's passing; walking faster to see if I could find any type of shelter for the duration of the night.

I had nothing; I couldn't survive here for more than a few days. I had to find something to help me for the remainder of my stay here.

But the question that kept running through my head was: How long would I be here? Was something going to come back for me, or was I abandoned here and am now on my own?

If I was indeed abandoned, then at least it solved part of the situation. However, there could be elements in this forest that could create an entirely new dilemma. I had to get out of here and find some type of help for the time being.

I began to run.

The thought of something out here to get me was terrifying, but at least now I could run instead of having no option.

I came upon a clearing and stopped dead in my tracks.

There was a massive, dangerous river ahead at the end of the clearing. The sound of the water crashing against the malevolent looking boulders filled the air and drowned out the low whistling wind around me. However, the river wasn't the reason why I stopped abruptly.

Standing next to the river was a female around my height; her back faced me as she stared into the dark waters before her.

I cautiously stepped back toward the tree line.

Something about this woman didn't feel right. She reminded me of the malevolent river she stood in front of; a terrible aura emitted from her as she stood there stiffer than a stone. Although my steps were light and quiet; I failed to see the small twig in my path—it snapped ever so loudly.

The female swayed suddenly, and I froze in fear.

She swayed again, and used the momentum to swing her leg around in an effort to turn around. Once she turned, I couldn't help but gasp.

She looked identical to myself.

She smirked and raised her hand out toward me, then she outstretched her two forefingers and pulled them back; motioning me to come closer to her. I took a deep breath and hesitantly proceeded forward. Each step I took, the lump of fear in my stomach rose.

Who was this person? Why did she look like me?

As I came closer to her, her smirk grew and she began to chuckle. I had a feeling that she wasn't going to aid me in my struggle in any way, but something drew me to her even though I was terrified.

Some type of familiar feeling; as if we'd met before but hadn't seen each other in decades. The baffling part about it was that I couldn't remember ever seeing her before. That feeling of confusion tied in with my panic made me feel as if I was going to faint; my heart couldn't take any more, it seemed.

I just wanted to find peace; live without fear and find happiness.

Should I even be approaching my duplicate? What if she was going to harm me? Would I be better off if I ran from her to seek help elsewhere?

I stopped in front of her, and she put her outstretched hand on her hip.

"How nice of you to finally arrive," she began. "I've been waiting here for you."

I unintentionally gulped and she continued.

"I have no memory of what happened to us. I don't know our name, or how we came to be; all I know is what _I am_ and what _you are_. My power seems to be limited for the time being; I cannot take control of our mind and body entirely on command. Tell me; do you understand where you are?" She asked.

I shook my head.

She stepped closer to me and continued.

"This is my domain. I am apart of you, as you are of me. I am your inner strength and your inner persona; without me, you cannot exist. For the time being, _you_ are the one in control of our body and our mind. I cannot do anything unless I am provoked."

She continued forward and stopped directly in front of me, then grabbed me by the neck.

"Do you even realize just how _infuriating_ that is?" She asked, her voice growing into something demonic sounding.

I shook my head as I grabbed her hand around my neck to try and pry her off.

"Listen to me, you _insignificant maggot_ ; until I am at my full strength, we have no other option than to rely on you to keep us alive. Do you understand?" She asked.

I didn't say anything, but coughed and blinked in response as she continued.

"We are in danger right now; we haven't fed in what seems like a very long time. We need to feed in order to survive. Feed on what you ask? Souls— _living souls_. So, with that being said, I need you to get out of here and feed us immediately. If you don't, we will perish. Got that?" She asked as she pushed me back.

I stumbled backward and held my neck. I coughed and looked back up at her.

"And just how do you propose I do that? I haven't the slightest idea of how to get out of this place, and I wouldn't know how to even devour a living soul. I don't understand how you expect me to—"

Before I could finish my sentence, she grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the river.

"W-What are you—"

She turned around to face me; those red eyes of hers scaring me to my core.

"At the scent of blood I can be summoned. Since you're too much of a weakling; I'll do it myself. The only thing you have to do is this: make someone bleed. I'll take care of the rest." She said.

Suddenly—without a single chance to respond—she kicked out my legs from under me and pushed my head under water.

I gasped and began choking at the sudden action, and felt as if I was going to suffocate.

She held me under for a moment, then pushed the rest of my body down.

I ran out of breath and admitted defeated; I felt myself descend deeper down into the water. With what I thought was my final second, I felt a new rush of adrenaline race through me.

I opened my eyes and saw a familiar ceiling above me. I sat up abruptly and looked around; I was back in my room. I sighed in relief, and leaned against the side of the couch; I looked up at the window and stared into the moon.

What an interesting dream I just had.

The thought of there being another version of myself was so preposterous I had to let out a chuckle.

The things the other me said though were a little 'over the top,' however. I wondered why I would dream of doing something like that. Feasting off living souls; how would one even go about that? Would one simply start by taking a bite out of someone? The thought of that was sickening.

I shook my head of the thought, and the familiar song that played every now again in my head began again.

The image of the white-haired male came to mind again.

As I remembered his teal eyes, I felt something strange come over me; a mysterious pain in my heart that I couldn't quite make out. The identity of this male along with my relation to him was bound to drive me to insanity one day. I wanted to know so badly that I felt like hitting something.

Those translucent eyes of his; as if I knew just who he was behind them yet I just couldn't get past viewing the blurred outline.

This person must have been very important to me. The only question was: why?

Some time had passed, and someone dropped off my daily plate of food and cup of water. They retrieved the one left by the door from yesterday, and promptly proceeded out.

I noticed that each day, the food left me dissatisfied. It was enough food to get me by with a full stomach, yet I still felt hungry even when my stomach argued otherwise. I thought about my dream again and shook my head; this feeling couldn't possibly be a yearning for something as unrealistic as devouring a soul.

I exhaled at the nonsense of my thoughts again, and decided to stretch out after the meal. The lack of movement I've had within the past few hours took its toll—my legs felt weak and I increasingly felt as if my muscles would begin to deteriorate if I didn't move around a few times throughout the day.

This room gave me anxiety.

Able to do absolutely nothing aside from sitting, eating, or sleeping, was torture. However, I'd much rather deal with this for eternity than with the other torture I've received from Hajime-Sama thus far.

If that man happened to be my sibling, then why would he treat me the way he does? Aren't siblings supposed to take care of one another? Also, where were our parents? Where were we born? How did we get here?

The door suddenly unlocked and slammed open violently.

As if reading my thoughts about him, Hajime-Sama entered the room angrily and zeroed in on me.

"Do you even realize just how upset Aizen-Sama is? Where is she? Can you feel her out? Communicate with her!" He shouted as he stormed over.

I was so confused by the sudden outburst that I didn't say anything. He grabbed my stubbed arm, and lifted me up to his eye level.

"I know you're not deaf; answer me when I'm talking to you!" He shook me.

"H-Hai, Hajime-Sama! I don't know what you're talking about; my apologies!" I replied just above a whisper.

He slapped me in the face.

"Speak up, you stupid whore!" he shouted at me.

I repeated myself, this time above normal volume and absolutely clear. He pushed me back down to the couch and angrily exhaled.

"Listen, can you feel your counterpart, Yoru? If you can, then you should be able to figure out her location." He said.

Yoru?

Who was Yoru?

That kind of sounded familiar.

"No, Hajime-Sama. Unfortunately I don't know who that is., nor can I feel her." I replied.

"Shit." He responded. "Of course you don't…damn it!"

He turned on his heel and sped-walked to the door.

"Send out a team immediately!" he began to say as he walked.

"Get her back at all costs!" he finished as he slammed the door behind him.

I sat there dumbfounded staring at the door.

What was with that sudden outburst?

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

**-Day 5 of Azumi's Capture-**

"We've got company!" Matsumoto shouted.

We stopped and were suddenly surrounded by Arrancar.

"Surrender the Doll immediately!" One of them shouted.

Yoru no Shedo landed on Matsumoto's shoulder and turned her head completely around to assess the situation.

When we didn't respond, the one who previously spoke continued.

"Doll, by order of Aizen-Sama and Hajime-Sama, you are to come with us immediately. Any struggle will result in immediate punishment." He said.

Yoru no Shedo cocked her head to the side and blinked her black eyes.

"I don't take orders from anyone other than my Master; I will not go with you unless she has commanded it." She responded.

"Then you leave us no—"

Yoru no Shedo wasted no time.

She used her speed to swiftly attack the Arrancar speaking, and tackled him down to the ground. She extracted her claws from him, and screeched demonically as she launched a Cero at him and killed him on contact.

"Haineko!" Matsumoto called; using the distraction.

Haineko immediately swirled around us and pushed back all the Arrancar that surrounded us.

I took out Hyourinmaru and flashed toward the Arrancar closest to me with a downward slash on his center.

All three of us continued on until we defeated all of them. These Arrancar must have been newborn for how weak all of them were; they should've sent a stronger search team if they actually wanted a decent chance at taking Yoru no Shedo. Granted, I was thankful they hadn't; we really had to get a move on and get Azumi out of this wretched place.

Once the three of us finished up, we continued forward to a very tall, slender tower with two double doors as the entrance.

"She's in there; my Master is in that building." Yoru no Shedo told us.

We landed at the two doors and cautiously looked around. There were two guards making their rounds it seemed, and they hadn't caught on. Matsumoto and I each got the jump on them, and took them out with miniscule effort as Yoru no Shedo waited for us by the door.

We quietly opened the door and peeked inside. The interior was similar to the other buildings we'd been to, however this one almost seemed as if it was cut from a different cloth. It seemed almost of a higher class than the others did—as if it was of higher importance.

"This way," Yoru no Shedo told us.

We nodded and followed her through the building. We were able to avoid detection, and eventually came upon a large door guarded by two Arrancar. We hid around the corner of the hallway—our reiatsu masked while we assessed the situation.

Yoru no Shedo landed on my shoulder and bent down to my ear.

"She's behind that door; I am certain of it." She whispered.

I looked at Matsumoto who returned my gaze with a determined nod. I took a deep breath, placed my hand on Hyourinmaru's hilt, and sprang into action.

I took one of them down with no trouble at all, and pinned the other one while Matsumoto finished the job on the first. The first one screeched in pain from Matsumoto's attack, and started calling for help.

"S-Somebody! P-Please!" he shouted.

"Honestly," Matsumoto began, flipping Haineko so the hilt faced the Arrancar.

"You would think that Aizen would have stronger men," she finished as she struck the Arrancar point blank with the hilt directly against his forehead.

He gasped at the attack, and fell to the floor; bloody and unconscious.

The Arrancar I had held against the wall quivered and gulped at just my gaze.

"Matsumoto,"

"Hai!"

She tried opening the door.

"It's locked, Taichou." She said.

"Open it now if you value your life." I growled at my hostage.

"I can't do that! The intruders are here! Help! Someone—"

I immediately slammed the back of his skull against the wall, and he passed out on the ground.

"What do we do, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked.

"Move." Yoru no Shedo suddenly piped in.

Matsumoto and I quickly backed away from the door in front of us, and Yoru no Shedo launched a Cero at it.

There was a feminine-sounding shriek from inside the room, and I immediately went inside.

"Azumi!" I called, looking around.

The room had only a couch, a table, a rug, and a barred window high up on the wall.

I scanned the room for her and saw nothing.

"Azumi? It's me, Toushirou! Where are you?" I called.

Could there have been a secret passageway? But then why even lock the doors?

Yoru no Shedo flew forward and landed on the opposite edge of the couch; looking down behind it.

"Master,"

Suddenly there was a shriek, and the sound of scrambling back.

"G-Get away from m-me!"

It was her; I'd know that voice anywhere.

Matsumoto and I immediately rushed behind the couch.

"Azumi…chan…"

"P-P-Please, don't come any closer! Please d-don't kill me!"

Upon seeing her, my heart immediately shattered.

She…she was…missing almost her entire arm…

Her head had bloodied bandages wrapped around it...she'd been tortured this whole time.

"Azumi-chan…no!" Matsumoto shouted through tears.

As Matsumoto tried to step closer, Azumi scrambled back.

"P-Please, please don't t-take my life! Y-You can do whatever you want to me except for that! P-Please, I'm begging you!" she pleaded with a shaken voice.

Matsumoto wiped under her eyes and tried to suck up the tears she cried for the two of us. I was in such shocked stupor that all I could do was stand there, staring into the Hell Tokiwa predicted I'd be dragged down into.

"A-Azumi-chan, why would you say that? We would _never_ hurt you—we're here to help you," Matsumoto began.

"A-Azumi-chan? Who is that?" Azumi responded.

Matsumoto and I both stood there frozen.

"What do you mean ' _who is that_?' What did they do to you?" Matsumoto shouted in outrage.

Azumi shivered at the intensity of Matsumoto's outrage.

"I-I don't know! I don't r-remember anything before a f-few days ago…I'm sorry!"

She bowed before Matsumoto; her stubbed, bandaged arm stretched out as far as possible in an effort for a proper bow.

"I-I don't know who this 'Azumi-chan' is, but I apologize that I resemble her; please f-forgive me!" She cried, voice clearly shaken from the tears she shed.

That completely did it.

I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I obliterated all the furniture in the room with just one hand movement.

I tried fiercely to control my breathing as tears cascaded down my cheeks and I shook violently with anger and defeat.

My Azumi was gone.

Completely wiped from the slate.

She was beaten, tortured, and regarded without any type of mercy.

_I didn't make it in time._

I couldn't save her from all the horrible things they did to her.

I couldn't live with myself for letting this happen; I was an incompetent, worthless, scumbag that couldn't even save the person he treasured the most.

Azumi screamed at my sudden outburst, and covered her head in a weak attempt at shielding herself.

"T-Taichou," Matsumoto tried to coo through her tears.

I was beyond any type of comforting at that point. I breathed so heavily that the physical motion of heaving was must've made me look terrifying. My heart beat so fiercely I could hear it in my ears and feel it in my head. My reiatsu fluctuated out of control, and the room instantly felt like a frozen tundra on the coldest day of the year.

Whimpering broke my spasm. The sound of sharp breaths trumped over my beating heart, and I turned to zero in on the source of the noise.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted at me on cue.

I looked at the quivering brown-haired female huddled in a fetal, struggling to breathe. I held my breath to stop my pants, and then took one last deep breath to contain myself. Once I masked my reiatsu, Azumi gasped for breath and coughed through tears. I stood there, staring for a moment at the wounded female sobbing.

"Azumi," I called softly.

The scared, rattled girl peeked up at me.

"I-I…"

She suddenly gasped and pointed at me.

"D-Daydream!" She shouted at me.

Confusion swept my mind as she continued.

"I-I dream of you amid the flowers; for a couple of hours!"

She paused to choke out a sob.

"Such a beautiful day…"

She wiped her face and tried to settle herself with a deep breath.

"Who are y-you? W-Why do I know those words, and why do they make you appear in my head? H-Have we met?" She asked.

I looked away from her and down at the ground.

My hands clenched into fists, and I grit my teeth as I tried to pull myself together.

I'd heard those words before…

I'd caught Azumi singing that song once before; it was a few days before they took her away under false pretenses. She didn't know just how long I stood behind her and listened to her. I hadn't slept well for the past few nights before, and wasn't in the best of moods because of it. But seeing her innocently swaying at the music only she could hear, and singing along with it helped ease my demeanor.

After I'd made it known that I heard her and teased her, she said that the song reminded her of me.

She said: "I daydream in blue whenever I think of you," with that goofy grin on her blush tinted face.

She made me feel like she was happy; happy enough to start singing again, like she would back in the World of the Living when things weren't as difficult. Seeing her acting carefree like that made me believe that she felt safe and taken care of with me; trusting even.

I've failed her…failed the one person that trusted me the most…

Azumi...

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…I'm sorry I didn't make it in time…" I trailed off for a moment.

After gathering my thoughts, I looked up at her with fierce determination.

At the very least, she was still alive.

"I promise you that I won't let them hurt you any more; we will leave this place together, and you're going to live in safety and happiness for the rest of your life. No one will ever touch you again; I promise you on my own life."

I walked up to her—she cowered back at my movement slightly—and quickly took her shaken form into my arms before she could protest. She squirmed and lightly gasped, but then seemed to ease at the contact.

"I will never let you go again; I promise you."

I squeezed her delicately as I tried to control my emotions. Matsumoto sobbed behind us and bent down to the floor with us.

"A-Azumi-chan, I am so, so sorry," she cried, scooping the two of us in an embrace.

After a few more seconds, Azumi pushed the two of us back and looked at each of us.

"W-Who are the two of you? Are you sure that I'm this 'A-Azumi-chan' you keep referring to? I feel that maybe you have the wrong person; I was told my name was Eve." She said.

"Eve?" Matsumoto questioned; Azumi nodded.

That name stuck out as something that was important; historical perhaps. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I'd heard that name at least once before.

"That is not your name, Master," Yoru no Shedo suddenly chimed in.

Azumi's head snapped to where Yoru no Shedo perched behind us on a pile of broken furniture.

"Do not be fooled—you are my Master, Takashita Azumi. I am your loyal servant, Yoru no Shedo. I follow you, and am your aid in all of your struggles. You've created me from pieces yourself; I am a part of you. Because of this, we are eternally connected." Yoru no Shedo told her.

"Yoru?" Azumi asked, looking at me.

I nodded.

"You're the one that he was talking about…the one that he said I could communicate with; the one that escaped." She paused to look over at her, and then back at me.

"I believe you," she said, stopping to lightly smile through her sniffling.

"I-I like that name; _Azumi_. I like it much better than the name that..."

She stopped and gasped as her eyes widened to something behind me.

"Better than the name I gave you, _Eve_?"

There were suddenly three sharp objects that pierced completely through my left shoulder.

Azumi shrieked and covered herself as footsteps approached us.

I stared in shock at the three red, slender spikes that stuck out of me as the person grew closer.

"Didn't we warn you about the intruders, _Eve_?" He asked.

That voice…

"H-Hai, Ha-Hajime-Sama! I-I-I'm sorry!" Azumi responded with thick panic lacing her words.

Matsumoto immediately pulled Azumi behind her while Yoru no Shedo landed on Matsumoto's shoulder.

The pursuer began to laugh.

"Oh, this is too good; I thought I was going to have to wait a few months to rub my victory in my white-haired nemesis' face. Looks like the stars are on my side!" He paused to laugh again.

"Tell me; how does defeat feel, Hitsugaya Toushirou?" He asked.

I didn't even need to look to know who it was.

"You…"

I stood up; slipping back into that fury from moments ago as my fists clenched until they bled at my sides. It was _him_ ; it was _him_ all along…

"You did this to her…"

I turned around slowly; my eyes blinded with rage as I looked upon the face of the one I was going to kill.

"Bankai," I whispered through gritted teeth.

My reiatsu raged out of control as I grabbed Hyourinmaru and went in for a point-blank stab.

"Hideki Katsu!" I screamed.


	43. Chapter 43

**Takashita Azumi**

Immediately, the young male who came to take me out of this abyss, lunged at Hajime-Sama with his new, ice covered body.

The female and owl he brought with him immediately positioned themselves in front of me as a form of protection.

While the icy atmosphere of the room chilled me, I sat there in a trace; not understanding just what was happening. I couldn't see either of them since they moved so diligently, but I was able to pick up where the sounds of impact were made.

I hadn't been moore afraid for my life than at that very moment.

Aizen-Sama and Hajime-Sama both told me to stay away from the intruders, but I let them get this far without trying to escape from them. If this escape I'm attempting to make with them is unsuccessful, one thing was for sure—I would be beaten mercilessly the when it fails.

I wondered exactly what I was supposed to do with all this new knowledge. Yoru no Shedo said I made her from myself—which is why she knew me and my true name—but who were these other two?

The male—Toushirou, I believe it was—struck my mind fiercely when I set my eyes fully on him. He was the male I'd envisioned in my mind since day one. When he embraced me, my heart fluttered and raced briefly, but calmed down as he held me close. Just who was he to me? And who was this female to me?

Just who was I before?

Even though these thoughts baffled me, now wasn't the time to try and figure it out.

What was I supposed to do?

Was I supposed to go with them, or stay here with Hajime-Sama and Aizen-Sama?

These three seemed like they cared about me; they didn't look like they were actually trying to harm me, they wanted to protect me instead. This woman in front of me; she currently is putting her life on the line to shield me from the battle in front of us.

Did I mean that much to her? Did I mean that much to all of them really?

My head snapped up to the sound of grunting and angry screams.

Hajime-Sama and Toushirou both stopped to take a breath. Hajime-Sama had blood running down one of his shoulders while Toushirou had a gash on his leg.

Hajime-Sama twirled the red blood around him for what I assumed was a defensive measure in case of a sudden attack. He smiled and began to chuckle before Toushirou spoke.

"Tell me, Hideki, did you alone do this to her or was it part of Aizen's plan?" Toushirou asked, his voice thickly laced with anger.

"First of all—now that you know the truth—call me by my real name: Hajime Saito. Secondly, if she hadn't struggled against us, Tousen-Sama wouldn't have had to take desperate measures," he smirked, gesturing at his left arm.

"Her memory loss was a side effect from when we gathered brain tissue; it works to our advantage, however."

Hajime-Sama gathered the blood from Toushirou's leg at that moment, and had it change into several spikes that surrounded Toushirou. As Hajime-Sama commanded the blood to strike him, Toushirou curled his ice wings inward as a quick block.

Once the blood spikes shattered, Toushirou and Hajime-Sama disappeared again with their speed. As they landed blows on each other, the atmosphere in the room produced shock waves that hit the three of us on the floor.

I cowered into the female in front of me for more cover. When I grabbed hold of the back of her shirt, she turned her head slightly to speak.

"It's okay Azumi-chan; I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise." She told me with a very serious tone behind her voice.

"T-T-Thank you," I stammered sheepishly.

I stared into her loose orange hair that flowed freely down her back, and somehow felt relieved; comforted. Something about her hair produced feelings of ease; as if looking at it and smelling the aroma reminded me of some type of past comfort. I felt that I could trust this woman entirely, and rely on her almost on a maternal level. Everything about her seemed so promising; as if she was a very dear person in my heart.

"What is your name?" I asked her.

"Matsumoto Rangiku," she answered, distracted by the fight in front of us.

Her name sounded completely familiar; as if I'd said it numerous times before. I decided then and there that I knew her, even if I couldn't remember exactly how.

Amidst all the chaos going on in front of us, a scent lingered in the air that I couldn't quite get enough of. When everyone first appeared a few minutes ago, the scent came with them. Ever since the scent filled my nostrils, a strange sensation swept my body and mind. My first thought was that maybe it was fear, but upon re-thinking it, I realized that fear was an inadequate assumption. It was something far more menacing; it made me feel dazed and confused.

I clutched the back of Rangiku's shirt and closed my eyes tightly in an attempt to suck back the feeling.

Rangiku gently placed her hand along my leg in an attempt to comfort me, and in that very moment, Toushirou grunted in pain and landed directly in front of Rangiku and I.

Upon his landing, a small amount of blood splattered on Rangiku and I.

I reached up and touched the liquid on the top of my head and brought it back down to look at it. As I stared at the red substance, immediately I knew what the strange scent was. My eyes were completely fixated on the now enticing substance, and couldn't move away.

As Hajime-Sama and Toushirou spoke, their words completely faded away; silence and still atmosphere overriding all of my senses.

I licked my finger of the blood without thinking.

I sucked and licked every last drop of it off my hand.

My vision began to darken while my body quivered with a yearning I'd never experienced before.

' _At the scent of blood I can be summoned.'_

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I hadn't gone as out of control as I wanted to since Azumi and Matsumoto would be harmed in such a small enclosure. On top of that, Azumi couldn't defend herself or handle my unleashed reiatsu; with her memory loss I doubt she even knew what she was, or how to utilize her powers.

If I didn't have either of them here, Hajime and this entire building would have already been ripped to shreds. I'd torture him just like he did to Azumi; I'd kill him slowly and take my time inflicting pain on him.

Something was off about him since the day I met him.

I convinced myself I was just jealous, but now knowing the truth, my prior feelings about him were correct.

He was evil.

Everything about him from his actions, his speech, his body language; all deceptive to the naked eye, but ultimately malevolent.

Hajime came at me with a frontal attack. He'd made the blood harden around his fingers to form claws and swiped at me with them.

I dodged the first few swipes, but without being able to use my abilities in their entirety, Hajime ended up getting the better of me. He grazed my shoulder deeply, and as he proceeded with the attack, I was forced back toward Azumi and Matsumoto. I caught myself before hitting either of them, and the impact caused some of my own blood to splatter toward them.

"I'm sure you thought once you took her back to the Soul Society that you'd won; didn't you, Hitsugaya?" Hajime asked.

I didn't answer.

I let him continue as I looked for flaws in his defense.

"The funny part about all of this is that you _never_ stood a chance." He pushed his hair back.

" _I_ am the one she's destined to be with; _I_ am the one cut from the same cloth," He paused to smirk at me.

"and I…" he paused and averted his gaze to Azumi momentarily.

He looked back at me with that disgusting, victorious facial expression.

"…am the one _who already impregnated her._ "

My eyes shot up to meet his.

I was already furious about the damage he'd already done to her, but this…

"You…"

My vision turned red.

Words couldn't describe just how insanely enraged I was at that very moment.

Suddenly, Azumi began coughing violently.

All heads snapped to her, as she jerked violently while ripping her hair out behind Matsumoto.

"Azumi-chan!" Matsumoto shouted with concern as she hunched over her and attempted to hold her.

Azumi gagged, and immediately had the possessive white substance leak out of her mouth and begin to cover her face.

"Oh this is too good! Even I haven't seen this yet!" Hajime laughed.

"Matsumoto! Get back!" I shouted at her.

Matsumoto complied, and quickly stepped away from her along with Yoru no Shedo flying off as well.

Azumi's demonic, painful screaming never ceased to make me cringe and my heart ache. The amount of pain that she went through each time she endured hollowfication was something I never enjoyed watching.

Her reiatsu spiked and suffocated the room as her Hierro crawled down her arms. It formed over her stubbed limb to create a substitute arm—complete with claws.

Something new that I hadn't seen before appeared on her back; two stubs?

She took a moment to catch her breath before her head snapped up; she looked directly at me with those blood red eyes of hers.

She let out a violent roar as her claws shifted back and forth in anxiousness; she looked around the room, her neck cracking as she swayed her head.

Suddenly she flash-stepped toward me but bypassed me entirely to go straight for Hajime.

He flash-stepped out of the way and laughed.

"What is this? Are you mad at me, Eve?" He laughed again as she chased him through the room.

"You shouldn't be mad at the _father of your children_ , my darling!" Hajime chortled as he sent spears of blood at Azumi.

I launched a wave of ice to block his attack from hitting her, but Azumi dove through my ice along with his blood spears, and straight at him.

With a huge smirk on his face, Hajime held his arms out; almost as if she was coming in for an embrace rather than an attack. He let her crash into him, completely plowing through the wall of the room next to the door. She pinned him to the ground and stared at him; her fangs bared and growling at him.

"My, my, my, are you already ready for round two? We have guests, my dearest Eve," Hajime smirked.

If Azumi didn't kill him with her next attack, I'd gladly do it for her. I couldn't believe that he…he…

She roared, and as she lifted her hand to deliver her next blow, Hajime caught it and held her back.

"And just what do you think _you_ can accomplish?" He muttered.

He kicked her upward and off of him, and she tumbled backward along the ground; skidding across the room.

"Do you even realize just how outclassed you are? Ne, Eve?" He shouted at her.

Once she stopped, she quickly got up and flash-stepped back to him—ready to initiate another attack.

He dodged her by flash-stepping to the side, and as he landed, he lifted his arm and twirled his wrist. All the blood from the floor and any that leaked from my wounds along with his, gathered and swirled above his hand.

He flattened it out in an instant—paper-thin and diamond shaped—then as he was about to shoot it at Azumi, she countered with an attack that almost got the rest of us.

Azumi's mouth snapped open and she formed a type of Cero I'd only seen Menos Grande use.

Instead of shooting the Cero in its spherical form, she launched it from her mouth—making it blast as soon as it emerged in a beam-like fashion to destroy everything that was in front of it.

Matsumoto and I luckily were able to get out of the room before she was able to hit us with it. She completely annihilated everything in the room; demolishing the walls and opening up a way to the outside.

Matsumoto and I flash-stepped outside rather than back into the hallway, and I couldn't tell if Hajime was able to escape it. Azumi's Cero was completely out of control it seemed; she haphazardly moved in all directions.

We all ended up jumping several stories to the desert ground below, and as Hajime appeared and hopped down to us, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to attack him relentlessly.

I sent out an ice dragon and followed behind it in a flash-step toward him. I promptly was able to slash out a wave of ice which easily made contact. He flew back with it, and crashed along the white sand.

Before I could go any farther, Azumi dove in and crashed straight into Hajime from atop the building.

She snapped her teeth at him—trying to bite him as if she were a starved wolf—as he held her above him. He head-butted her, then finally pushed her off and shot a blood spear at her. She tumbled backward and caught herself; she crouched and held her forearm up to block the blood spear. As she looked back up, Hajime was already up on his feet and coming to attack.

I flash-stepped behind him and stabbed straight through his shoulder.

He grunted, and then turned his head just enough to smirk back at me.

"Oh, look who's trying to play dirty," he said lowly.

"Hajime," I began as I pushed Hyourinmaru deeper into him.

"For what you've done, death isn't enough for you. I'm not going to let you off easily; I'm going to take my time killing you for what you've done to Azumi!"

Quickly—before Hajime could utilize my words as a distraction—I pushed my blade downward and sliced clean through his underarm.

He quickly hopped away, his arm I'd just partially severed hanging limply at his side.

I immediately went at him again. He dodged quickly, and as I attempted a vertical slash downward, he side stepped and attempted a mid-level kick at me. I quickly used Hyourinmaru's ice wing to block it, and he utilized the contact to push himself off me. He panted and looked up at me; the whites of his eyes black and his iris' silver.

"Now you've done it, Hitsugaya; do you see what you've done?" He spat at me.

It suddenly occurred to me just what he'd said earlier.

"Hajime, when you said you were cut from the same cloth..." I trailed.

"You catch on quick, Hitsugaya," he smiled as he panted.

Matsumoto screaming snapped our attention to her.

She grunted and held herself as she swayed in agony. She screamed again in pain, and before I could even blink, Azumi was in front of her.

"Azumi! No!" I shouted.

As Azumi swiped at her, Matsumoto screamed and something unexpected countered Azumi's attack.

A _human arm_ sprang out of Matsumoto's torso.

What the Hell was…

The arm pushed Azumi back, and in that moment, the rest of the body attached to the arm came out of Matsumoto.

Matsumoto fell to the ground, and Tokiwa stood up in her place.

But I…Tokiwa was…

Azumi came back for another attack. Tokiwa immediately drew her Zanpakuto and swung at Azumi in defense.

"Hajime-sama!" Tokiwa shouted as she push-kicked Azumi back so she could Sonido to Hajime.

During this moment, I utilized the distraction to transport Matsumoto a few yards away. She wasn't out cold, but she was vulnerable. Once I set her down, I flash-stepped back to them; Tokiwa now in front of Hajime.

"Hajime-Sama! Please stay back, I'm here to help you!" Tokiwa exclaimed as she stood in front of him, looking directly at me.

She was bloody and still injured; I'd assumed that she died and merely disintegrated like other Hollows after our fight—apparently I was incorrect.

"We meet again, _Shirou-chan,_ " she stared at me in determination.

"How are you still alive, Tokiwa?" Hajime asked.

"During my battle with these two, I implanted some of myself within her so that when the time was right, I could come back to aid you, Hajime-Sama." Tokiwa explained.

"Hajime-Sama, you're injured, please get out of here and seek medical attention; I'll handle—"

Hajime didn't even let her finish her sentence.

He backhanded her in the face, and she was forced out of his way as a result. He looked directly at her with absolutely no remorse, sympathy, or signs of gratitude; just anger.

"Did I say I _needed_ your help, Tokiwa? You're so unfathomably annoying; a parasite really. For you to think that I can't handle myself in a battle against weaklings is absolutely insulting." Hajime told her.

Her eyes widened in shock and tears began to form in her eyes.

"H-Hajime-Sama," she breathed out.

I didn't feel like letting the conversation continue any longer.

"Sokatsui!" I announced, pointing at Hajime.

The lightening erupted and cracked out from my fingertips and headed straight for Hajime. Before they were able to reach him, Tokiwa flash-stepped before him and took the hit straight on.

As this happened, Azumi flash-stepped behind me and stabbed through one of my ice wings.

I quickly pushed her back—not too harshly of course—and flashed out of the way.

Azumi seemed to stagger with her stance, almost as if she was getting weak. Maybe Azumi was trying to take back control of herself?

While she swayed, I decided that now might be a good opportunity to go for Hajime. I slashed the air vertically and sent a wave of ice directly at him again.

Tokiwa pushed him out of the way and they landed on the ground, her on top of him.

"Tokiwa, what do you think you're doing? Get off me now! I don't need your help, you ignorant whore!" Hajime said as he kicked her off him harshly.

Tears streamed down Tokiwa's face as she tried to prop herself up.

"H-Hajime-Sama, I'm sorry to insult you; I-I just—"

"You just what? Speak up, you parasitic worm!" he shouted angrily at her.

She breathed harshly and coughed up blood, her ribs no doubt broken and stabbing into her lungs from all the impacts. She reached up toward Hajime.

"I-I just,"

Azumi suddenly flash-stepped to Tokiwa and ran her claws through her chest.

"… _l-love you,_ " she breathed out.

Azumi flung her off to the side—away from Hajime—and flash stepped over to her. She roared and then pounced on Tokiwa; feasting on her without another moment to lose.

I wasn't necessarily in shock; but I didn't feel good about the situation with Tokiwa. I almost felt bad for her—dealing with a bastard like Hajime who just carelessly tossed her to the side like that. I wasn't going to stop Azumi—Tokiwa was an enemy after all—but for some reason, I hadn't wanted it to end that way for her.

Through Tokiwa's screaming, Hajime got up off the ground and slowly walked toward me; completely ignoring Tokiwa and refusing to even aid her.

"What's with that look on your face? You look so judgmental, Hitsugaya," Hajime said to me.

I shook my head and looked at the ground for a moment.

"You definitely proved to be the type of person I thought you'd be, Hajime. A sadistic, cruel, self-absorbed bastard. Scum like you doesn't deserve to live."

I flash-stepped to him and stabbed through his torso.

"I'll make sure you never harm anyone again, _especially Azumi,_ " I grunted.

Right before I was about to say the attack's release command, an unknown Arrancar flashed to Hajime's side. Before I could counter, he kicked me off Hajime—my blade exiting along with me.

Hajime coughed up blood, then spoke. "What the Hell are you doing here?"

At that instant, over 10 Arrancar appeared and surrounded us.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted.

My head snapped to her and then to a screaming, hollowfied Azumi. The Arrancar had tried to grab her, and she roared in outrage as she shook them off her. Azumi's Hierro seemed to be flaking off as she struck the Arrancar; consuming Tokiwa must've been enough.

I looked back at Matsumoto who immediately understood and nodded slightly in agreement.

I grit my teeth and looked briefly at Hajime.

The bastard got away this time.

"Guncho Tsurara!" I shouted as I executed the attack.

I shot the icicles in every direction aside from Azumi and Matsumoto's. Matsumoto and I both flash-stepped straight to Azumi. Matsumoto hit the back of her neck—to which Azumi roared in protest—and scooped her into her arms as she passed out from the blow.

I launched another attack toward the Arrancar before turning to make my escape with Matsumoto. They came up alongside us, and in unison began to form Ceros. I had to take some of them out or we wouldn't be able to escape without injury.

I swung my ice tail at the ones on my left—sending them down to the ground—and then immediately went for the others on the right. Matsumoto and Yoru no Shedo kept going while I attacked each one of them as quickly as possible. I lunged straight at one and succeeded in slashing diagonally at him, then shot a Shakkaho at the next one in line while one tried to attack me from behind. I dropped down to evade his attack, then aimed a Sokatsui back up at him which hit him easily.

I immediately flash-stepped as fast as I could to try and catch up to them. As it turned out, they slowed their pace just enough to where I could catch up. My flash-step was more advanced than Matsumoto's, so with just that small increment in change, I was able to catch up quickly.

I came up to Matsumoto's side and she turned to inspect me.

"Are you okay, Taichou?" She asked concerned while panting.

No; I wasn't fine at all. I mentally couldn't process anything other than anger and sadness; my actual wounds—that actually needed tending—were irrelevant.

"I'm fine, what about you?" I replied, ignoring the obvious.

"I feel like the life's been sucked out of me, but other than that I'm okay." She responded.

I looked down to see Azumi had returned completely into her regular form. She was still knocked out, but otherwise didn't seem more beat up than she already was.

I wondered the role Imuza played in Azumi's outburst; did Imuza still even exist since they tampered with her brain? Her memories were gone, I wouldn't be surprised if her alter ego went along with them.

Staring at Azumi's sleeping form added to my sadness. All of the horrible things Hajime did…

"What now, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked before I could delve deeper into my thoughts.

"Let's find the others and get back to the World of the Living." I responded.

"Hai," she replied.

After a few more minutes of flash-stepping, we landed next to some boulders on the desert floor and set Azumi down for a bit. She had blood gushing out from her lower abdomen.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto caught on at the exact same time; Azumi's blood all over her arm.

"Shit; help me!" I said.

Matsumoto and I crouched down to her level and I held her up just enough so that Matsumoto could pull her dress above her waist. It was probably inappropriate since I was there, but it wasn't the time to worry about something as miniscule as that.

Once Azumi's dress was pulled up to her mid torso, that's when we saw it. She had stitches along her side; the wound they tried to seal had been ripped open and was bleeding.

"Just what else did they do to you?" Matsumoto shouted and slammed her fist against the ground.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." I gritted my teeth.

What the Hell did they do to her? Why did they operate in that spot particularly? What kind of physician doesn't know how to properly tend to someone's wounds? The stitch work was absolutely appalling—on top of that, her head and her arm looked absolutely terrible. She'd die from infection the way they left her.

"Taichou, you don't think…" Matsumoto began.

I looked at her, my gaze unintentionally harsh from how angry I was.

"They took her eggs and are trying to mass create Bounto-Hollow on their own rather than waiting..." She trailed off.

"God damn it!" I shouted.

I hardly ever felt sick to my stomach, but this entire situation and what Aizen and Hajime got away with made me want to vomit. They would pay for this with their lives—I'd make sure of it.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself before speaking.

"Matsumoto, let's at the very least try to do some kido on it before we go; it won't help that much, but it's still something." I told her.

"Hai, Taichou." She replied.

"My thoughts exactly, Hitsugaya-Taichou; in fact all of you should heal before we continue,"

Matsumoto and I snapped around at the voice.

Unohana and Kotetsu stood behind us.

Words couldn't describe how relieved I was to see the two of them.


	44. Chapter 44

**Takashita Azumi**

"Just what kind of person are you?"

I sat up and looked around to see my duplicate from my prior dream leaning against a nearby tree.

I was in that forest again, surrounded by dead leaves and the smell of rotting wood. Why was I dreaming of this place again? When did I fall asleep?

"I asked you a question; answer me." She prompted angrily again.

I stared into her red irises as she crossed her arms impatiently.

"I-I don't know." I responded.

"Well then, let me fill you in," she began, cracking her neck.

"A weakling. You're worse than an infant; you sat there— _crying_ —when those two broke in. Then when Hajime came in, you hid behind that woman like a scared little girl. What kind of reputation is that?" She asked as she angrily shook her head.

"Thankfully that blood splattered on us and I was able to take partial control; if I hadn't who knows what would be left of us right now." She continued.

Immediately I remembered what happened. The last thing that popped into my mind was the taste of that blood on my tongue.

"B-But this is a dream; how would you be able to…there's no possibility—"

"Possibility of what? This isn't a dream—I'm real; this is my domain. I'm a part of you; an entity dwelling in your soul—created _from_ your soul; I am you, and you are me. When I take control of our mind and body, we revert back to our true form." She explained.

I gulped subconsciously.

"Our true form?" I asked.

"That's correct." She replied, lightly pushing herself off the tree from her leaning position.

I stood up, and looked at her dead in the eye.

"S-So does that mean that you know who we are?" I asked with sudden desperation tinging my question.

She shook her head.

"I know as much as you do about our past and what we are. However, I do know more about what we need to survive than you do—obviously. As I said before, we need souls to survive. Without them, we cannot go on living; we will perish. Do you understand?" She asked.

I took a moment to assess what she told me before replying. It didn't make sense at all. Why did we need souls? Wouldn't regular food suffice?

"How do you know that we need souls?" I asked.

"You can say we were born with it—the need that is. When an infant is born, their natural instinct is to search for sustenance. There—that's a better word for it; it's our _instinct_ to search for it. Make sense?" She explained.

Her statement _did_ , but _didn't_ make sense to me. Regardless, if that was what needed to happen then I would just have to adhere to it as much as I didn't want to.

"With that being said; you aren't cut out for the job." She began as she walked toward me.

"You're weak; absolutely useless at offending and defending us. You aren't cut out to be in control of us; you don't know what you're doing at all."

She stopped right in front of me and stared me down.

"However; in the state that we're in, I'm not powerful enough to be in full control just yet—as much as it pains me." She said as she searched through my eyes and sighed.

"For the time being, when I am summoned I have no mental control over us. Instinct solely comes into play; its as if we're a mindless, starving animal. We're completely uncoordinated, and because of that, we have very limited power. Which is what brings me to my next point: you have to defend us _until I_ can take control. With your feeble, child-like persona, you won't be able to do anything without my help. As much as I don't want to show you this; I have no choice."

She reached and took hold of my wrist, then turned around and pulled me behind her.

"H-Hey! Where are we going?" I stammered out.

She didn't answer me, she just tightened her grip on my wrist and kept pulling me forward.

Through many barren trees and soft moonlight, we finally arrived at the clearing from before; the powerful river in front of us. She took me to the water's edge and stopped to look at me before speaking.

"Do you know what this river is?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"This river is my power. The strong current, the sharp boulders, and the width of the river all are the strength and energy I possess. This energy is part of our life force as well; if it ever were to dry up, the two of us would perish along with it. Do you understand?" She explained.

I lightly nodded my head.

All of this seemed completely unrealistic that I had trouble really processing all of it.

"Now, listen carefully: if you can cross this river, you can tap into my powers to utilize at any given moment." She let my arm go before continuing.

"Until I can completely take control, you'll have to defend us and keep us alive. So,"

She stepped around me, preventing any escape from the river's edge.

"Get going." She commanded.

My eyes widened at her statement.

I turned my head back around to inspect the river.

It was impossible to make out just how deep it was; it was hard to tell if some spots went deep down while others remained shallow. The rocks in certain spots looked slippery and incredibly sharp; one wrong step looked like it could be fatal. On top of that, the current by itself looked like it could knock down a horse—even without the rocks or slippery surfaces as an aid. And to add onto everything, it wasn't a narrow river; it must at the very least be about 40 feet wide.

She expected me to try and cross this? I only had one hand to help me, and I didn't have the best shoes for the venture; How was I supposed to do this?

"I-I can't—I won't make it." I whispered just above the rushing water as I stared into it.

"You're acting as if you have an option." She said closely to my ear.

Shivers went down my spine at the sudden closeness, and in an instant, her hands took hold of the back of my shoulders.

"Our lives depend on this," she whispered.

She shoved me forward, and I stumbled head first into the water.

Immediately the rapids swept me away; scraping up my body with the rugged rocks beneath. I struggled to keep my head above the surface; ingesting so much water through my windpipes that I began to choke.

I somersaulted straight into a large boulder that protruded out of the water; my back smacking up against it. The current pushed and held me temporarily against it, and I could feel myself already slipping against the slimy vegetation coating of the rock. I pressed my fingers against it to try stabilizing myself and luckily found a small ridge in the smooth surface to hang onto.

I tried to feel out the bottom of the river, but to no avail. The feeling of my feet dangling freely in the open water sent shivers up my spine that amplified the chill I already had from the icy water. I took a moment to breathe and cough the water out of my lungs. I coughed and heaved so much it felt as if one of my ribs cracked. I couldn't even reach down to cradle my ribcage while I hacked away—this was an absolute nightmare. My new wounds from the sharp rocks swelled under the water; my legs were definitely torn up on various spots and my sides took a few stabs here and there as well.

When I finished catching my breath, I looked around to see exactly what my position was. I couldn't see the edge of the water where the clearing was anymore; just massive forest on either side. The boulder I'd ended up stuck to was in the middle of river. I crept my head around the boulder to see if I could perhaps see a pathway to the other side. There was no chance I could just swim across; my moves had to be chosen carefully or else I wouldn't be able to make it.

I spotted a rock that protruded just slightly out of the water. If it was able to stick out of the water like that, it had to have a strong enough base for me to land on—it made sense in my mind.

"Choose carefully!"

I turned my head to the side of the river I began on and saw my duplicate standing at the water's edge with her arms crossed. I was surprised I could hear her over the roar of the gushing water.

"If you drift too much further; you'll fall down the waterfall!" She shouted. "Move strategically!"

I gulped.

She wasn't going to come in to save me; her body language said that much just by itself. If I didn't do this, I would die.

I scanned out the possibilities for movement once I reached that smaller boulder. Chances I'd make it across after making it to that boulder were slim; even getting to the boulder in general was going to be tough. But I had to take that chance; I had no choice in the matter.

I took a couple more breaths while I composed myself, and then finally decided that it was either now or never.

I leapt for it.

The current immediately pushed me harshly. I kicked my legs to propel myself and reached out with my arm.

It didn't look like I was going to make it.

I felt my legs starting to give into the current, and my body felt as if it were going to flip backward under the water. The boulder was approaching fast, and I took one last leap to grab it. My entire body passed the boulder, but I was able to grab onto it with my hand. My palm was now sliced and no doubt bleeding from the sharpness, but at that moment it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I made it to the boulder; I had a higher chance to get across.

I slowly crept my hand around the boulder so that I drifted toward the other side of it. If only I had another hand—it would be far easier to stabilize myself so that I could plan out the next move. I wondered if Toushirou, Rangiku, or Yoru no Shedo knew if I had always only had one arm or not. Then again, it wasn't the time to think about it; I shook my head and focused.

I looked around again trying to see if there were any opportunities like the one I'd just had; nothing. There weren't any boulders sticking up, or any branches I could grab onto. There was about a fifteen foot distance left between myself and the shore. The only thing I could do at that point was to swim and hope for the best.

I pulled myself closer to the rock; it was difficult and took me more than a few tries, but I was able to pull myself up and crouch on it.

I took a deep breath, and made a complete leap of faith upstream toward the shore. Immediately upon hitting the water, my knees collided and scraped against the rocks beneath and sent me tumbling downstream. My foot happened to collide with a rock at the bottom, and I used that contact to push myself forward and upright as I swam like mad toward the shore.

Suddenly I heard a loud roar and crashing coming from my left. I peaked briefly and saw the edge of the waterfall my duplicate spoke of.

I started panicking and swam so fiercely that the gashes I'd received on my stomach ripped open further. I stifled the shriek I wanted to let out and kept sloshing through the water as quickly as possible.

"… _almost…there!"_

I swam with all my might.

The edge of the waterfall was mere seconds away.

I reached out toward a boulder on shore.

5, 4, 3, 2—

I stuck the hand grip right before my body fell down the waterfall.

I pulled myself up, and barrel-rolled onto the shore. I laid on the muddy shore, face up, panting like a dog.

I did it.

I really was able to do it.

I made it across the river of death that flowed through my mind. I couldn't help but let a small grin creep onto my face from the accomplishment. I turned my head to look at the other side of the river.

My duplicate stood there, her arms crossed and staring directly back at me. She let out a small smirk and nodded at me. I nodded back then rolled my head back to look at the dark sky above.

My eyes closed from exhaustion and I felt myself drift to sleep.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

Unohana informed us of the entire situation.

They came here to aid us in not only a surprise attack, but to retrieve Azumi as well. As Kotetsu healed Azumi, Unohana healed me the best she could.

"So then, she's lost all of her memories?" Unohana questioned.

As much as it pained me to reaffirm it, I nodded and stared down at the ground.

"I see," she responded, as she wiped off some of the blood from my shoulder.

"It's very unfortunate to hear those things have happened to her; I'm sorry for the misfortune, Hitsugaya-Taichou. If there was something I could do to assist, I wouldn't hesitate." She frowned.

"Thanks," I responded.

At that point, I was beyond having any words comfort me. It was kind that she understood, but there wasn't any way that I could feel better about the situation. The only thing that kept me going was that she was still alive at the very least.

I looked over at Azumi; she was still passed out from the event that happened not too long ago, propped up against a rock as Kotetsu healed her.

This was going to be difficult.

Once we got her out of here and back to the Soul Society, we'd have to start from square one. She had no idea just what she was, or even that she needed to feed on souls to survive. Her personality would be completely different than it was before as well—just from the few minutes we talked to her before, it was easy to see that she wasn't the strong-minded female she once was.

She's only experienced fear this entire time in Las Noches; its only natural that she would have a weak mind-frame from all the things she'd been through.

What I wanted to know _specifically_ is when Hajime impregnated her.

Was it before she lost her memory, or after? I wish it didn't happen entirely, but if I had a choice, I would wish that it happened before—that way she wouldn't even remember it happening. Just thinking about that in particularly had my blood boiling again.

The fact that I ran away before killing that psychopathic bastard made me feel like the worst failure of a man—I couldn't defend the woman I love _or_ avenge her.

I understood that generally the act of avenging something was frowned upon, but after everything that happened, I didn't care if the consequences sent me to the seventh circle of Hell. Hajime and Aizen would pay with their lives for every single thing that they had done; not only to Azumi, but to everyone.

Azumi's eyes flickered, and she gasped at the sight of Kotetsu.

"Please, remain calm, I'm not here to hurt you," Kotetsu said calmly.

Azumi scrambled as far back as she could toward the boulder she leaned against and looked around.

"W-What's going on?" She stammered out.

"It's okay, Azumi-chan, these are our friends; they're here to help you." Matsumoto said.

Azumi's head snapped to look at Matsumoto, and as soon as she did, ease swept her features.

"I'm Kotetsu Isane, a pleasure to meet you again, Takashita Azumi," Kotetsu smiled, and held out her hand.

Azumi reluctantly took it and shook her hand.

"N-Nice to meet you," she replied.

Kotetsu shook her hand then stood up.

"That will do for your healing for now. I will be back to check on your wounds after I heal Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, okay?" She asked.

Azumi nodded, and Kotetsu walked toward Matsumoto.

Azumi looked around and spotted me staring at her.

She quickly looked away with a light blush on her cheeks, and repositioned herself.

I looked away and out toward the sky; I couldn't help but let myself slip into saddening thoughts.

She probably didn't have feelings for me anymore.

The fact she remembered me partially was a blessing enough, and I was satisfied with that, but the fact that I couldn't even hold her like I used to pained me in so many ways.

Suddenly, an incredibly powerful reiatsu appeared in our midst.

I snapped my head around to see a brunette male crouched next to Azumi.

She gasped as he put his arm around her.

"My apologies; I don't enjoy doing things like this, however,"

Immediately I was on my feet, drawing Hyourinmaru.

"I'll be borrowing her for a bit," he finished.

He used his Sonido to quickly run with Azumi in his arms before my blade even hit the ground.

"God damn it!" I shouted furiously.

I crashed to the ground—both palms holding myself up as my blood boiled.

" _ **Can you hear me, my guest intruders?"**_

Immediately I sprang back up to my feet.

Aizen.

"Isane!" Unohana shouted toward her.

"Tenteikura!" Kotetsu replied.

" _ **I commend you for defeating the Espada thus far, and I will reward you by telling you this:"**_ Aizen paused briefly for effect.

" _ **We will proceed with our invasion of the World of the Living. Takashita Azumi will be kept in the Fifth Tower. If you wish to rescue her, come and get her. She is no longer of vital use to me; while she was indeed a valuable test subject, she was merely a disposable decoy in the end."**_

"Then why the Hell did you—!"

Aizen cut me off to continue his intermission.

" _ **Her powers are amazing; the higher ups of the Soul Society understood the importance of her breed and the immense power she possesses. That is why her capture would be a threat to them and they took steps not to protect the World of the Living, but the Soul Society itself. Her presence was enough to become bait to lure in the Soul Society's potential new military strength, the ryoka: Kurosaki Ichigo, along with one of their very own Captains."**_

Aizen…

" _ **Furthermore, I succeeded in imprisoning the four Captains who came to assist them here in Hueco Mundo."**_

As soon as Aizen said the word 'imprisoned' Kotetsu immediately thrust her hand to the ground. The desert floor glowed around her hand as she tried to gather information.

"The four Garganta that we passed through to get here…have all been sealed!" She shouted in a panic.

" _ **The magnificence of the Gotei 13 lies in the 13 Taichou—all possessing the power to stand as a military strength on their own. But now, 3 have defected and 5 are imprisoned. It can be said that the military power of the Soul Society has literally been cut in more than half; it will be so easy now."**_ Aizen paused again briefly.

" _ **We will destroy Karakura Town to create the Ouken, and overthrow the Soul Society. I shall take all of you on leisurely after this is done. Until my return, I leave Las Noches in your care, Ulquiorra,"**_ Aizen concluded.

A few seconds passed by—assumption was pointless; we knew he was already in the World of the Living.

"Damn him!" I shouted.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou," Unohana began.

"He completely made fools of us all! The bastard!" I clenched my fists.

He had Azumi again, and did all those things to her as a decoy to get all of us here. He literally planned for all of this to happen. I can't believe that I—

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, there is something that you don't know." Unohana began.

I turned to her and stared into her fierce eyes with my own as she continued.

"Urahara Kisuke was given a special set of orders from the Soutaichou. The first order given to him was to get us 4 Taichou to aid you here in Hueco Mundo. While he worked on his first order, every officer of the Gotei 13 that are of Taichou-level left were to get ready for battle in Karakura Town." She concluded.

"So then everyone else is," Matsumoto began.

"Yes, all of them should be in Karakura Town by now." Unohana answered.

"But then what about the town?" Matsumoto continued.

"That was Urahara Kisuke's second order; he's reconstructed the town to make fighting possible there. And on top of that, the real Karakura Town has been moved to the Soul Society, and replaced with an empty replica of the town. Urahara Kisuke was able to pull it all together and transport the town and all its people out of harms way. The residents of the town have all been put to sleep and are resting with the town in the outskirts of the Rukongai." Unohana answered.

"Matsumoto," I began.

She immediately turned to me and met my gaze.

"Stay here and heal. Unohana, I'm leaving her in your hands." I turned.

"Taichou! Wait let's think this through!" Matsumoto urged.

"Yoru no Shedo," I called out.

She screeched and took off.

"Meet me when you're through." I said before disappearing.

I caught up with Yoru no Shedo in no time at all.

She didn't say anything at all; she already knew what I was after.

As soon as I caught up, she picked up the pace and we passed by buildings without even a passing glance. She screeched again, and twirled mid-flight—she seemed just as eager as I was to get Azumi back and get things over with. I'm sure that she knew how much danger Azumi was in now that Aizen didn't need her.

What was everything for? Was it all a lie that he was going to create an army of Hollow Bounto hybrid? Why wouldn't he wait before attacking? Didn't the Hogyoku need more time? Maybe he was able to make his army after all; with the surgery he put Azumi through, he already succeeded and didn't need her anymore.

Whatever the case, I couldn't let it drag out any longer. I've said it a thousand times now, but I'll say it again; this time Hajime wouldn't escape.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

"Go ahead, Hajime; please be brief," Aizen-Sama said as he turned back toward the others.

Aizen-Sama began making his announcement, and Hajime-Sama turned to me.

I shivered uncontrollably under Hajime-Sama's angered gaze.

He had some bandages wrapped around him, but I could tell that he wasn't healed at all. I wondered just exactly what ended up happening to him—was it Toushirou who did that to him? I couldn't remember anything that happened after I'd licked that blood off my fingertips. I met my duplicate again and then after the river crossing, I woke up to see Toushirou and the other people with him.

Just what had happened on the outside world while I was trapped in my mind? What was Hajime-Sama going to do now that I was here, _alone_?

He took a few steps toward me—his hands shoved in his pockets as he walked.

"You've really _outdone_ yourself, Eve," he began; his tone menacing.

"Tell me, just what was it that Aizen-Sama told you about those intruders? What did he _specifically_ tell you _not_ to do?" He continued walking.

I couldn't help but cower under his gaze as he continued his stride to me.

"H-H-He," I stopped to gulp.

"T-T-Told me not to be anywhere near the i-intruders, H-Hajime-Sama," I responded.

He stopped right in front of me.

I looked down at the ground—my heart pounding vigorously in my chest.

"Then tell me,"

He push-kicked my face and I sprang backward into the ground. My vision blurred and I tried to will away the stars clouding my vision by blinking furiously.

He bent down and grabbed my right ankle.

"Why was it,"

He picked me up effortlessly, and flung me against the wall.

I coughed blood once I fell to the floor; the blood from my nose combining with the blood from my throat. I heard his steady approach through my coughing.

"That you were with those damn Shinigami?" He shouted at me furiously.

He picked me up by my neck and held me up against the wall.

"Eve, what did I tell you just the other day? Who do you serve? Huh? Tell me!" He shouted at me, his saliva splattering on my face.

"A-A-Aizen-S-Sama and H-Hajime-Sama," I choked out.

I couldn't breathe.

His grip around my neck was so tight I felt as if my head were going to explode.

He dropped me, and I fell to the floor.

"I've run out of time; I'll finish dealing with you as soon as I get back. Be a good girl for Ulquiorra, Eve— _or else._ " Hajime-Sama threatened as he walked back to Aizen-Sama.

The four of them left through a large rip in the atmosphere, and I was left with Ulquiorra-Sama.

He approached me, those emerald eyes piercing my very soul as he gazed at me.

"Tell me, child; now that you no longer are of any use, do you feel scared?" He asked upon his approach.

I didn't know how to react other than just to continue with my shivering and coughing.

"How does it feel knowing that now, there is no reason for me to keep you alive?"

He stood there, motionlessly—his words completely rattling me to my core.

Now there was no need for me.

They can torture me until I die.

I felt as if I were suddenly deaf; the realization that because of my actions I condemned myself to death made my stomach leap up to my throat—there was no hope now.

The room at that moment changed in atmosphere. Gravity seemed to have increased dramatically in just mere seconds.

There was an explosion from the floor beside Ulquiorra-Sama, and through the smoke, three figures emerged.

Toushirou, Yoru no Shedo, and an unknown male stood amidst the smoke.

"Azumi!" Toushirou shouted.

"Takashita!" the orange-haired male beside Toushirou called.

Toushirou sprang toward Ulquiorra-Sama and I.

Toushirou took a swipe at him, and upon Ulquiorra-Sama's dodge, the orange-haired man came in to attack him. He and Ulquiorra-Sama began fighting off to the side and they both immediately broke through one of the walls and left outside.

As I coughed and kept gasping for air, Yoru no Shedo landed on my shoulder and lightly nudged me with her head. As I composed myself, I looked up and saw Toushirou crouched in front of me; his sword put away and his full attention directed at me.

His held his hand out and it lingered in front of me.

"Azumi," he called softly.

I subconsciously sharply gasped in response.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry I'm late,"

He moved his hand ever so slightly, and I took that as a motion to take it. I took it, and he lightly squeezed my hand.

"Let's go. I'll take you to the others and help Kurosaki finish his battle quickly." He said.

The look in his eyes—sadness? For me? The longer I gazed into them, the more I began to feel his small act of kindness wash over me; sincere appreciation for him dominating my emotions. I'd cried from fear and panic, but now…these tears were of my pent up, helpless sadness. I felt that I could truly trust him, and that he really was here to save me from this horrible nightmare. I felt so selfish, but I…I just...

"T-Toushirou," I stuttered out.

My grip on his hand tightened as he waited for me to continue.

"I-I know that I shouldn't ask this but I can't help but t-try,"

I crashed forward into him and wrapped my arm and stub around him in a an act of desperation and need. I gripped the back of his shirt tightly as I buried my head against his shoulder.

"P-Please don't let them hurt me anymore!" I whimpered.

"I'll do w-whatever you ask of me, but please…" I couldn't help but sharply gasp from my tears.

"I can't take it this anymore...I'm so, so sorry," I sobbed into him.

Something about him felt so comforting—like I could rely on him absolutely. I really hoped my intuition was correct.

"T-T-They're going to kill me now that they don't need me…p-please, can you take me with you?" I pleaded.

He pulled me against him, holding me up against him tightly—making me feel as if I was the only thing that mattered. As my chest visually displayed my choked sobbing, he delicately cradled the base of my head against him, the gesture cooing me from the depression that consumed me.

"I promise you—I'm not going to let them hurt you. We're leaving here—together. I came to rescue you, Azumi; I'm not leaving here without you. I won't let you go," he said.

I tightened my grip on him; overwhelmed with emotion and a hollow feeling in the pit of my gut. Butterflies and waves of relief from the comfort of the white-haired male cradling my quivering self filled my core.

I couldn't mentally process anything except this:

I never wanted to be separated from Toushirou again.


	45. Chapter 45

**Takashita Azumi**

Without another passing moment, Toushirou swept me off my feet, and put my good arm around his neck. Yoru no Shedo disappeared, and I suddenly had earrings hanging from my earlobes.

"Hold on," He told me.

I nodded and tightened my grip as I leaned into him, positioning my aching head into the soft, warm crook of his neck.

Immediately, he took off out the hole in the wall Ulquiorra-Sama and the other man made. He moved so quickly that I didn't dare open my eyes for fear of nausea. Eventually we landed, and he came to an abrupt stop.

"Taichou!" Rangiku's voice hit my ears.

I blinked and looked around to see her steadily approaching us.

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku called, running toward us.

Toushirou let me down and as soon as my feet hit the ground, Rangiku wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Azumi-chan! I'm sorry that we couldn't stop him! Are you okay? I'm here for you now; I won't let you out of my reach, I promise!" Rangiku said, pushing me back to inspect me.

"T-Thank you," I let out a light smile.

I looked around to see a group of people gathered behind her. Two that I'd seen earlier, and one that was unfamiliar. The unfamiliar woman that was about the same height as Rangiku except with dark skin and purple hair, approached me and looked over me.

I looked away, scared to make eye contact.

The woman's body language was very fierce; as if she was a warrior that had been from the depths of Hell and back.

"Azumi," she called.

I held my head up, and shakily outstretched my hand to her.

"N-Nice to meet you," I breathed out.

She swatted my hand down and wrapped her arms around me.

"It's true…" she mumbled under her breath.

She squeezed me tightly.

"Shihouin Yoruichi; nice to meet you," she said, stroking my hair before pulling back to look at me.

She moved the hair out of my face and inspected me. Her fingers lightly grazed over my bandaged temple, and I couldn't help but wince over the contact. Her arm slid down to my bandaged stub, and she took a moment to look at it. After she finished there, her hand slid to my waist, and her fingers traveled upward to the right side of my abdomen. She stopped her fingers over the spot stained red with blood.

After she inspected it, she looked up at Toushirou who stood behind me, and then exhaled angrily.

"Don't worry, I'm going to make sure they pay a hefty price for this number they pulled on you." Yoruichi said, looking fiercely into my eyes.

She patted my head, and then turned her head to look at the sky. I followed suit, and it was then and there that I noticed the multiple specks floating in the sky. Were those people? I felt a heavy presence in the air and I stumbled down to a knee—my lungs felt as if they were going to collapse.

"Azumi!" Toushirou called my name in a panic.

Yoruichi leaned down to make eye contact with me while Toushirou was immediately by my side.

"Look at me, Azumi." Yoruichi ordered.

I looked up at her; panting.

"Breathe with me and follow my movements; you will be okay." She said sternly, yet softly.

"Inhale." She ordered—I complied.

"Exhale." She ordered, and I complied again.

We repeated this a few more times until the dizziness began to dissipate.

"She can't control her reiatsu right now, we need to get her out of this heavy reiatsu until she can once again control herself." Toushirou crossed his arms, talking to the others behind me.

"Isane," the woman with braided hair along her chest called.

"Hai," Isane replied.

Isane walked toward me and everyone backed up. She stuck her hand out above my head, and a bright orange, see-through box formed around me.

I gasped like someone coming up from a deep dive underwater; air flowed through my lungs and I instantly felt better.

"Thank you, Yoruichi, Isane," I lightly nodded at the two of them.

They nodded back, and Isane turned to the braided woman again.

"This will hold up until we're ready to move. She should be able to breathe easy at the least," Isane said.

"Where are Kurotsuchi and Nemu?" Toushirou asked.

"Abarai-Fukutaichou said they found some type of laboratory after their battle with one of the Espada." Isane replied.

"I wonder if it's the same lab they harvested Azumi in," Yoruichi commented.

"How far was the laboratory they spoke of?" I asked.

Everyone looked at me in shock at my sudden question.

Isane shrugged.

"They said it was underground and quite a distance away from here. Exactly where; I don't know." She replied.

"Then that is not the same laboratory." I said more to myself than any of them.

Rangiku walked over to me and crouched beside me.

"What are you thinking, Azumi-chan?" She asked.

I rubbed my hand against my stubbed arm in thought before replying.

"I-I have a request. If the answer is no, I understand," I paused and looked up at Rangiku and Toushirou.

"If possible, I-I would appreciate it if one of you could take me back to the room you found me in. I know how to get to the laboratory my spawn are in." I said.

"Azumi-chan," Rangiku began.

"I don't like the thought of killing anything or hurting anything, however, this is different. All of my spawn in that room are going to be tortured and trained to kill others. Hajime-Sama didn't have to say it for me to figure that out. Those are all of my children; brought to life by psychotic and malevolent motives." I paused.

"I don't want them to experience and suffer the same things that I have—I don't want them to be abused and utilized for someone else's devices. I want to save all of them, but with my lack of power, I can't do that for them. I-It pains and breaks my heart just saying it: _I can't protect them_. I am unable to do anything except for the one thing no mother wants to do."

My heart pounded in my chest from the next statement that lingered on my lips.

"T-The only way I can save them…"

I choked out a sob and covered my mouth. The thoughts racing through my mind were absolutely horrid and painful.

"…is to e-exterminate them." I shivered.

"Azumi-chan," Rangiku attempted.

I resituated myself, and took a quick breath before continuing.

"The only one that I am able to save is the one growing inside me." I put my hand over my stomach.

"If I can escape from this place, the little one growing in my belly will be able to escape with me. At least he would have a _chance_ at a decent, normal existence. He wouldn't be destined to take the lives of others; he could live with me, somewhere where no one could hurt the two of us…a-at least, that is my dream." I sighed and looked down at my stomach.

I rubbed my hand against it, and prayed to any entity that would listen. The more I spoke of the situation, the more I realized that I couldn't just leave. Now that I understood what was happening, I had a responsibility that couldn't be overlooked or swept under a rug. Although I probably would die in the process, I had to do this.

I looked up at the others and continued.

"If you cannot take me, I completely understand. I've done nothing for any of you, yet here you are providing unconditional help to me. With or without help, I have to do this for my children before I leave this place. I couldn't bear living with myself if I left to let them suffer alone." I straightened my posture and looked at Toushirou.

He looked directly into my eyes.

He seemed almost as if he were angered at my words—I couldn't blame him. I asked for so much, yet have given nothing in return. He broke our eye contact and looked up toward the sky. I couldn't tell if he was trying to process what I'd said, or if he was debating whether or not to extend his help.

The thought of having to separate from him for even a moment made my heart quiver. I felt that if I left, I'd be condemning myself to permanent Hell in Hajime-Sama's hands; only to repeat the same process over and over again. If Hajime-Sama caught me, that would be the beginning of the end. All I could do was wish that after I do this, Toushirou and the others would still accept me and still hold out their invitation.

Toushirou looked back at me, his fierce teal eyes panged with an emotion I could only make out as hurt. I didn't understand why he would portray that type of emotion—did I hurt him with my words?

"As cruel as it sounds, it has to be done." Yoruichi spoke up.

I looked over at her as she continued.

"Although I can sympathize with you and what you've said, and as painful as it would be for a mother—I completely agree with you. They are meant solely for the purpose of bloodshed. We have to take them out now before they progress any further." Yoruichi said.

"I'll take you," Toushirou cut in.

I turned to look at him to see his face still etched with hurt and sorrow, and nodded at him.

"T-Thank you, Toushirou," I said to him.

"Since you're taking her, I'll stay here to help the others. Don't take too long." Yoruichi told him.

He nodded, and she bent down to look at me.

"I'm proud of you, kiddo. Your decision isn't an easy one, but in this situation, _it is the right one_." Yoruichi told me.

"She's right, Azumi-chan; we'll take you there." Rangiku added.

"Thank you," I said again, lowering my head in gratitude.

"Release the barrier, Kotetsu," Toushirou told her.

"Hai, Hitsugaya-Taichou." Isane replied.

She snapped her fingers and the barrier immediately vanished. The weight of the atmosphere increased immediately around me, and it became hard to breath again.

Within seconds, Toushirou scooped me into his arms and we took off with Rangiku by our side.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

This had to be one of the most twisted feelings I'd ever felt. With her memory loss, Azumi had very limited emotions; the fact that she was able to make that adult of a decision baffled me. I wasn't expecting her to even think about that. The fact that she of all people decided to mass-murder her own 'children'—as she called them—was brutal even for her.

Granted, it was the right decision and would be executed regardless of her permission, but for _her_ to come to that conclusion herself was a new level. As soon as she began to weep mid-sentence, I grew angry. This whole situation was steadily growing more terrible by the minute. It didn't even happen to me; I could only imagine how Azumi must feel. I subconsciously portrayed the anger and hatred _for_ _her_ ; with everything leading up to her capture before she lost her memory and then all of this happening, the situation is tenfold worse than just knowing the later.

I tightened my grip around the precious, broken female in my arms subconsciously. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down. Never in my life have I lost control like I have in these past few months. It's ridiculous how much one person could completely change another.

"T-Toushirou,"

Azumi broke my train of emotional thoughts and I quickly glanced at her.

"I-I'm sorry my decision upsets you; I promise you that after this, I wont ask anything more of you. I owe you my very life for coming here for me. I may not remember my past, but just by looking at you, I can tell that you were someone very important to me. Please, let me know if there is anything at all I can do for you. From here forward I will serve you, Toushirou-Sama. " She said.

I shook my head.

"Azumi, I don't want you to think that way; you owe me nothing for this. I'm here because I lo—" I stopped myself short.

She most likely didn't feel for me anymore.

As much as it broke my heart, I had to lay off that emotion or even implying it. I took a breath before continuing.

"I'm here because you're very dear to me; I couldn't just stand by and let them take you away. I am the one that's sorry; if I had gotten here sooner…" I paused, looking at her arm and then back up to her face.

"If I had gotten here sooner, you would still have your arm and your memory. I can't begin to even express just how sorry I am, Azumi—I didn't make it in time…" I trailed off, my hands tensing from my anger.

Azumi gripped my shoulder lightly with her hand as a form of comfort.

"You came here for me; no matter what has happened, that's all that matters. Please, don't apologize to me; I couldn't be more grateful and couldn't possibly thank you enough for your kindness," she lightly smiled.

I looked briefly into her eyes; a small ray of hope lit up her features.

She was counting on me.

She was relying on me to get her out of here and take her home.

Her confidence in me calmed my panicked mind; thoughts of rational, unemotional actions started trickling back into my mind. This entire time, all I could think about was how violently I wanted to rip Hajime and Aizen to shreds. With Azumi's child-like innocence, she instantly brought me back down to reality. Even if she didn't love me anymore, she still influenced me and dominated my emotions and actions.

"It's nothing; don't worry about it." I forced out.

"Please don't think I'm angry at you; I'm just angry at the situation. The fact that I can't easily and quickly make everything right again angers me; please don't hold it against me." I told her.

"I understand; thank you for letting me know." She replied.

"Also, you're free to ask what you'd like of me. You don't serve me; please don't think that I'm doing this for that."

This next part, I couldn't believe I was saying it.

I could easily manipulate it because of her memory, but…

"Also, please, just call me Toushirou." I lightly shook my head at my statement.

If there was any doubt about how much I cared about Azumi, this completely cleared it up.

She giggled lightly, and leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Toushirou it is,"

After about another minute of flash-stepping, we arrived at Azumi's room. I set her down and she looked back and forth down the hallway.

"It is this way," she pointed.

"Lead the way, Azumi-chan," Matsumoto told her.

She started running in the direction she pointed to and Matsumoto and I followed suit. We went down a few hallways and then exited the building. We crossed a bridge to the next building and cautiously proceeded forward.

Matsumoto and I opened the huge, double doors, and the three of us crept around them up to a hallway. We spotted a couple of Arrancar coming down the hallway, and backed up out of sight. Azumi stepped behind me and held onto my shoulder nervously as we hid.

Matsumoto immediately jumped the two Arrancar single-handedly and successfully took the two of them down. I lightly placed my hand over Azumi's trembling one, and she took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing forward. We ran down the twist and turns of the hallway, and eventually came upon a closed door.

"This is where it is," Azumi pointed.

Matsumoto nodded at me and motioned Azumi to step behind her. Matsumoto opened the door, and I sprang inside.

There were three Arrancar inside; they immediately panicked upon my entry, and I used their shock to my advantage. I took down all three of them in seconds; two of them couldn't withstand the wound I'd given them and disintegrated into the atmosphere. The one remaining fell to the floor face down, unconscious. Matsumoto brought Azumi in with her, and stopped by my side while Azumi walked straight past me.

It was only then that we noticed.

Azumi walked up to the wall, her fist clenched and her body trembling.

"I'm sorry; all of you," she breathed out.

All along the wall were separate flasks filled with a liquid substance. In each of them, a red dot floated at the bottom.

The two of us walked forward toward Azumi and the wall to inspect them. I was surprised how large they were for how many days had passed. However, at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if Aizen found a way to speed up the development process.

I looked over at Azumi. Her hand was over one of the flasks, tears cascading down her cheeks.

I put my hand on her shoulder—she looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. She wiped her face, straightened her shoulders, and stood tall as she exhaled.

"All right; please, stand back." She said.

She raised her hand over her face and made a downward-pulling motion. As she pulled her hand down, Imuza's mask formed with the gesture.

Matsumoto and I both instinctively jumped back from her—hands on the hilt of our Zanpakuto.

Azumi looked back and forth at the two of us before speaking.

"I know I said to step—" She cut herself off with a gasp.

"My voice," she mumbled and grazed her throat.

"Imuza?" I questioned.

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Imuza? Who is that?" She replied.

"Azumi?" I questioned again, my hand hovering away from the hilt.

"Yes?" She responded.

"How are you doing that?" I asked.

"Doing what?" She asked back.

"Azumi-chan, you have Imuza's mask on," Matsumoto responded.

"A mask?" She questioned again.

She held her hand in front of her face and then used two of her fingers to touch her cheek.

She gasped at the feeling of the mask, and began to frantically feel the rest of her face.

"W-What is this?" She shrieked. "How did this get here?"

"Azumi-chan, have you ever met someone similar to you? Someone who looks exactly like you?" Matsumoto asked.

Azumi was taken aback and looked at Matsumoto in shock.

"How do you know about my duplicate?" She asked.

"Azumi," I began.

She looked back at me and I began to explain.

"That duplicate you speak of is your inner Hollow: Imuza. I will go into more detail later, but you happen to be a rare breed. You are half Hollow, half Bounto. Imuza is a part of your soul that takes over every now and again. Since you have met her, you must at the very least know that," I prompted.

"Yes, she told me that she was a part of my soul, but not about what I am; I didn't know her name was Imuza." Azumi trailed off.

"What has she told you?" I asked her.

"She told me that I'm weak, and that I'll have to rely on her to survive. Once I passed her test, she showed me briefly how to channel her energy. I don't really understand all of it, but she told me if I just pull my hand down and channel that energy that I could utilize some of her power. It's strange really; she only showed me that and told me one other thing before I woke up to see all of you." Azumi informed us.

"She told me to raise my hand like this and to channel that energy." Azumi stepped back and rose her palm in front of the wall.

"She said to be careful, but I don't really underst—"

She unknowingly formed a large, purple Cero in the palm of her hand in an instant, and it immediately launched at the wall and exploded in front of all of us.

I was able to keep my footing from the blast, and immediately flashed to Azumi.

She was blasted back to the opposite end of the room and I caught her before she crashed into the wall; her mask shattered immediately.

I plucked myself out of the wall, and scanned her for injury.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Matsumoto?" I looked to her.

"I'm okay, Taichou, is she all right?" Matsumoto asked.

Azumi quickly and unsuccessfully tried to get back up before rubbing the back of her head.

"I'm fine; my apologies. I _now_ know what she meant." Azumi cracked a small smile and chuckled at herself.

" _There's the inner klutz I know…"_

Matsumoto approached us and chuckled as well as I hoisted the struggling female back to her feet. She swept herself off as she took a few breaths.

"Thank you for helping me up," she smiled at me.

"Don't worry about it," I replied.

I looked back at the wall of embryo and saw that she took out a good amount of them. There were still a lot remaining, but not nearly as much.

"Now, back to what we came here for," Azumi said to no one in particularly.

She walked forward and suddenly shrieked and fell.

The Arrancar still alive on the floor grabbed Azumi's ankle and tried to pull her down toward him. Matsumoto and I were immediately on him. I kicked him off her and directly into one of the tables while Matsumoto guarded Azumi and helped her up.

Before the Arrancar even looked up, he screeched.

"My research! My precious, precious research!"

He pounded his fist against the floor, and as he grunted and raised his head, he met with the tip of Hyourinmaru in between his eyes.

"To Hell with your sadistic research," I said as I pushed the tip of Hyourinmaru against his forehead.

He formed a toothy smirk and averted his eyes to Azumi.

"No matter what you think about it, the fact is we've already won. My research has served it's purpose; not only do we have one obvious ace in the hole, but two. You Shinigami think you have everything figured out—convincing yourselves that you're the higher species with greater intelligence. You're all a bunch of fools! Doomed to forever be inferior to us!" he laughed.

This guy was definitely losing it. However…

"For someone who claims to be of higher intelligence, you sure are a fool,"

I slashed his shoulder in the blink of an eye. He shrieked and lost his balance, slamming face first into the floor.

"Go on, tell us what this second 'ace in the hole' is; you were so proud to declare it just a moment ago. Don't stop now," I tapped the side of Hyourinmaru against his cheek.

He flinched out of reflex and stammered.

"Get talking," I said firmly as I shoved the blade harshly against him.

"You think that just by destroying my specimens here that you completely will have gotten them all? You're absurd; this is merely the 'natural' birth laboratory. There are several other ways to recreate the strain she is; take Hajime-Sama for instance. Who knows just how far Aizen-Sama has gone; I was only in charge of the embryonic experimentation."

Azumi turned at that moment and vomited.

"Azumi-chan!" Matsumoto turned to help her.

The Arrancar laughed hysterically and continued.

"And as you can see, I've already succeeded. It shouldn't take too much longer now." He snickered.

"Just what do you mean by that?" I retorted.

He belly laughed and chortled before replying.

"You really believe that Aizen-Sama would wait for nine months? Don't be ridiculous!" he held his hand up and pointed at Azumi.

"The last I checked, my little test subject was already the size of an apricot! It must relatively be close to the size of a plum now! And if she's hollowfied, then it could be even more progressed than that! My creation will be out in a matter of days, and there isn't anything you can do!" he laughed again.

Azumi continued to heave.

The being growing within her was _already_ that size? It had only been three days—the amount of strain from the quick expansion on her organs and the rest of her body could kill her!

"Taichou!" Matsumoto called.

As if on queue with my thoughts, Azumi started coughing up blood—wonderful.

The Arrancar laughed again at the sight of her—I had just about enough of him. I stabbed into his already opened shoulder. He winced in pain as I spoke.

"Where are the other laboratories?" I asked.

He didn't reply.

I shoved the blade in deeper.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" I threatened.

"I don't know! They didn't tell us because we were only given orders to conduct embryonic experimentation! I have no idea where anything is!" he exclaimed.

"Then you're useless to me." I responded.

Quickly, I raised my sword and stabbed through his chest. Not even five seconds passed and he already began to disintegrate.

I shook off Hyourinmaru and sheathed him before turning around.

I walked over to Matsumoto and Azumi. She had just finished hacking away and was trying to breathe rhythmically.

"Let's finish this and get back to the others. Azumi needs serious medical attention." I said.

"Hai, agreed." Matsumoto replied.

I faced the wall and held up my palm.

"Wait!" Azumi suddenly shouted.

I looked at her, my palm still out in front of me.

Matsumoto helped her up and she wobbled forward out of her grasp.

"If anyone is going to do this, it's going to be me. Please," She breathed out.

She was panting now.

She was so incredibly pale that I almost didn't trust her to stand on her own. However, they were her _'children;'_ she had the right to decide how to handle them.

"Okay. Don't use as much energy as you did before. If you do that again you'll pass out from exhaustion. Can you manage that?" I asked.

She nodded.

I lowered my palm and stepped to the side.

Azumi took my place, and after a couple more breaths, she rose her hand over her face again. She pulled down Imuza's mask and held her palm out.

"All of you…" she began forming the Cero.

"I'm so sorry…"


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -[×]—[×]—[×]-
> 
> Hello everyone!
> 
> First of all, I am so sorry about the late post! I've been in Japan for a few days now, and have had difficulties getting onto this site, and the site I keep all of my work saved on. I have no idea why, but now that I'm at a Cafe with Internet in Tokyo I am able to log on to update. I will be in Japan until April 24th, and since I'm having difficulties with updating, I won't be able to update until after that day. My apologies, and thanks for understanding!
> 
> -Vi

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

"Unfortunately without proper tools, there isn't much I can do." Unohana said.

We got back a few minutes ago, and immediately Unohana began to tend to Azumi. She healed her to the point where Azumi didn't look pale and half-dead, but due to lack of supplies, she couldn't fully heal her. If it were a wound, Unohana could've healed it with emergency treatments, but an internal ailment wasn't something she was too prepared to deal with. She helped Azumi back up to a sitting position and continued.

"Unless you physically remove the fetus growing inside her, you cannot stop the rapid growth that's causing this. With that being said, that type of procedure isn't something that should be done here; it would have to wait until our return to the Soul Society." Unohana concluded.

Panic was etched across Azumi's face at Unohana's words. She leaned forward and grazed her hand over her stomach.

"B-But I don't want that; I don't want to end this one's life. This one has a high chance of survival; I want to keep him," Azumi stuttered out.

"Takashita-san, there's a _higher_ chance that your body wouldn't be able to handle all the abrupt changes; you could die because of this." Kotetsu warned.

"If that's the case and I do pass from this, at least it would be the best reason worth dying for. There must have been some type of plan the 'Arrancar'—as you call them—had in order to successfully execute this. Surely someone might know how to make this work?" Azumi prompted.

Everyone looked at Unohana who seemed to be pondering the possibility herself.

"Medicinally speaking, there isn't much help I can provide to you, however; perhaps a scientist such as Kurotsuchi-Taichou or Urahara Kisuke may be able to come up with a solution." Unohana told her.

"Regardless, there isn't anything we can do about this situation at the moment. We'll have to be patient and assess it again rationally when we are out of enemy territory." Unohana concluded.

"I understand; thank you for your help and also your opinion," Azumi told her.

"You're welcome, not a problem at all," Unohana replied.

There was a moment of silence, and shortly after Matsumoto spoke up.

"Taichou, what should we do about the other laboratories the Arrancar spoke of?" She asked.

I crossed my arms.

"At the moment, we have no leads as to where in this immense fortress those laboratories would even be. I wouldn't have the slightest clue of where to even begin searching for them." I replied.

"At the moment, I think our main concern should be to eliminate our immediate threats before doing any reconnaissance." Kotetsu added.

"I agree." I said after her statement.

"We got what we've come for; now is when we should focusing on how to get her to safety, and then how to get to the World of the Living to help everyone against Aizen." I said.

"Isane-chan, you said that the garganta you all used to get here has been closed off; is there a way we can open another one?" Matsumoto asked.

"Unfortunately, we were too reliant on the ones we used to get here; none of us know how to create one to get back. At the moment, we're stuck here until someone from the other side opens one." Kotetsu replied.

"And of course, we blindly rushed in without knowing how to get back either." Matsumoto sighed.

"There isn't anything we can do about it other than to move forward. In the meantime, I'll go up there and help them fight; I'm sure with as many Arrancar as there are that they're going to need assistance." I said.

Azumi shifted uncomfortably right after I'd finished my sentence. Before I could ask anything, Unohana spoke up.

"I agree with you, Hitsugaya-Taichou. You and Matsumoto-Fukutaichou should go and help the others. I'll stay here with Isane to keep Takashita-san safe; please, take over for any that are injured and send them to us so we can heal them." She said.

Azumi looked back and forth between myself and Unohana. I didn't necessarily feel as if she didn't trust Unohana—more like she was attached at the hip to Matsumoto and myself. I didn't blame her for it; it made sense to her since she knew the two of us longer.

I walked over to her and crouched down in front of her.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

She lightly nodded her head.

"Yes, much better," she answered.

Her hand quivered and she looked down at it. I could tell she wanted to say something, but before she could, I put my hand over hers.

"I have to go help the others; the sooner their battle ends, the sooner all of us can figure out a way to leave. I need you to stay here with Unohana and Kotetsu, can you do that for me?" I asked.

She seemed reluctant at first, but after a low deep inhale she managed a smile and looked up at me.

"Hai," she replied.

"P-Please be safe,"

I nodded, and squeezed her hand lightly before standing up. I turned around to Matsumoto, who nodded at me as a sign she was ready.

"Let's go." I told her.

Immediately the two of us flash-stepped to the group of fighters in the sky not too far from us.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

Some time had passed since Toushirou and Rangiku left.

It had been at least a few hours that I sat in the same spot within the barrier quietly with Unohana and Isane by my side. I was feeling rather shy, so I didn't say anything at all really. I had so many questions to ask about them about the situation and about myself.

Toushirou had mentioned briefly that I was a rare breed; I wanted to know all about what he meant by that. I wanted to know about Yoru no Shedo, about what Shinigami were, and how exactly I had previously built relationships with all of these people. Toushirou was the only one that stuck out I'm my mind before I'd even met him. What was our prior relationship? No doubt that he was someone very important to me—which is why I remembered him partially—but just in what way?

I wondered if Unohana and Isane knew the answer, but it almost felt selfish to waste their time with all my questions. Toushirou said that he would fill me in later; I guess I just had to be patient.

Speaking of patience, I was excruciatingly hungry. The last time I remember eating was several hours ago, but then again—with the odd atmosphere here—I couldn't tell if it actually had been earlier, or if it was yesterday. On top of that, I felt sick from how hungry I was; I felt as if I'd pass out if I didn't get something soon.

I decided to be brave and use that as a conversation starter.

"Excuse me, please forgive me for speaking out of turn," I began; Unohana and Isane both looked at me and cracked a smile.

"Not at all, please don't hesitate to speak to us. You can speak whenever you would like, Takashita-san," Unohana replied.

I nodded and continued.

"I was just wondering if any of you were going to find something to eat soon; I-I'm rather hungry. " I smiled sheepishly.

"I agree with you—I'm famished myself," Isane smiled.

"Unfortunately we've already run out of food; hopefully as soon as this battle ends all of us could go find something to eat," Unohana answered.

"Oh, I see—hopefully it does." I commented.

"Takashita-san—speaking of food—I am wondering; when was the last time you fed?" Unohana asked.

The way she phrased the question threw me off, but I didn't hesitate in answering.

"Hmm, it was before Toushirou and Rangiku found me earlier; a few hours beforehand one of the guards brought in a plate of food." I replied.

"I see," Unohana quickly responded.

"However, that wasn't the type of feeding I meant," she continued.

I looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She positioned herself to turn toward my direction slightly, and then replied.

"I meant how long has it been since you've fed off a soul?"

My duplicate's—or Imuza as they called her—words reverberated in my head. I'd almost forgotten about what she had told me.

"Oh, I see. Forgive me, I forgot that my body required that sort of sustenance. I don't ever recall doing such a thing, nor do I know how to. However, I will say one thing: I feel sick. I think it's because I'm starving to be honest; I feel as if it would be fairly easy to for me to faint right now." I replied.

"I see," Unohana replied.

"It occurred to me earlier that with the rapid, unnatural growth your body is going through, it might require more sustenance than usual. As I recall, the time span in which you could last without feeding was seven days. In this situation, with what the late scientist told you about the size of the fetus, it would be wise to take precautions."

Unohana stood up and stretched lightly. She looked at me, and then she switched her gaze to Isane.

"Isane," she called.

"Hai, Taichou?" Isane immediately responded.

"With the circumstances, we must find a Hollow for Takashita-san to eat right away. With her condition, I believe that she should now feed at least once to twice _a day_. Since she doesn't know when she last consumed one, it's safe to say that she is overdue. It could improve her condition immensely." Unohana concluded.

"Remove the barrier, Isane," Unohana ordered.

"Hai!" Isane complied and waved her hand over me.

The barrier immediately disappeared and Isane picked me up. Unohana turned around and took off—Isane following behind her with me on her back.

I kept my eyes closed this time. Since I didn't have a fixed object to look at like I had before with Toushirou, I was bound to get sick. We wandered for a few minutes and then suddenly I heard a loud roar. We stopped immediately and landed on the white sand below.

When I opened my eyes, three giant monsters were in front of us.

Isane put me down on my feet and I immediately quivered behind her.

"Please weaken just one of them for Takashita-san and restrain it, Isane." Unohana ordered again.

"Hai, Taichou! And the other two?" Isane asked.

"Leave them to me," Unohana smiled.

The fact that the two of them were unfazed baffled me. There were three, _giant monsters_ in front of us—they acted like it wasn't that big of a deal.

The two of them sprang into action.

Unohana took on the one on the left along with the one in the middle while Isane took on the one on the right.

Unohana's fighting style was graceful to say the least; it seemed as if her movements were works of art. With each step, she delivered slender, yet powerful blows. These monsters—as huge as they were—seemed so miniscule to her. With her talent, it didn't take her very long to subdue them both at once.

While I paid attention to her, I didn't notice Isane had already pinned the third monster to the ground.

"Takashita-san!" Isane called; motioning me over.

I immediately complied and headed over to her and the grotesque looking monster on the ground.

I studied it for a moment; it was a light grey color with six arms and a serpent-like tail. It had a mask over its face with six slits where its eyes were supposed to be. Its mouth almost seemed sealed shut, but the sharp protruding fangs along with the curvature of its jaw made me feel that it could easily open its mouth to completely shred its prey to pieces.

A low growl reverberated within its chest as it moved its head to look at me. Making eye contact with the creature scared me—I didn't want to go anywhere near it. This being looked like it could completely destroy me with just one of its thirty fingers.

I subconsciously stepped closer to Isane.

"Well, go ahead," Isane said as she looked down at me.

I looked up at her in shock.

Just what was she expecting me to do?

That thing would kill me!

I broke eye contact with her and looked back at the creature. Its gaze hadn't faltered; my heart raced just looking back at it. I felt an aura coming out of it that made my skin crawl. It felt evil; as if a sick, twisted, bloodthirsty, and ravenous determination completely governed the creature on a day to day basis.

I looked down at the ground and clenched Isane's sleeve.

"B-But, that thing will kill me," I breathed out.

Isane put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, I have it completely subdued; I won't allow it to harm you—I promise." Isane tried to ease my panic with a smile.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

Isane's smile dropped and a more serious facial expression took over her features.

"It's a Hollow." She answered.

"Wait a minute," I stepped back from it.

"Toushirou said that I'm a rare breed of Hollow and Bounto…y-you're telling me that I'm related to this _creature_?" I asked.

"In some senses, yes." Isane immediately replied.

I gulped.

"S-So I'm supposed to resort to cannibalistic tendencies and eat one of my own kind?" I asked more to myself than her.

Just the thought of it made me feel sicker than I already did.

"I understand that, however, this is what you've chosen to do about the situation. Rather than take the lives of innocent souls, you've decided to take the ones who have gone astray and relentlessly kill others. These Hollows have a very limited mental capacity; they aren't as advanced as the others who have ascended to Arrancar level. These ones will most likely be consumed by other Hollow as well. As a Shinigami, our main line of duty is to exterminate Hollow. Our form of extermination varies significantly from your consumption of them, but nevertheless, it's still an extermination. Take it as you will, but regardless, this Hollow will cease to exist one way or another." Isane told me.

She made me slightly feel better, but the thought of it still made me uncomfortable.

"Thank you, Isane; I appreciate your attempt at easing my troubled mind." I cracked a small smile.

"Of course," she responded.

The Hollow moved it's head to look around, and I followed it's vision to see Unohana approaching the two of us.

"Please proceed," Unohana motioned to me.

I looked from her back to the Hollow.

I approached it cautiously, and it stared directly at me as I came to a stop in front of it.

' _Put on my mask; I'll help you,'_ Imuza said in my head.

I took a deep breath, and held my hand up.

I dragged my hand downward, and as it did last time, my vision blurred for a moment before heightening dramatically.

I looked again at the Hollow—my stomach twisting in hunger.

My vision began fading in my left eye; black creeping at the corner of my vision.

I suddenly lost control of my body.

I tackled the Hollow on the ground, and feasted on it like a starving animal. Watching myself do it stunned me with a newfound horror; a newfound fear of gore and animalistic tendencies. Blood completely covered my hands along with my face; the warm sensation scared, yet satisfied me at the same time.

As I consumed it's flesh with no remorse, the fear that I had just experienced transformed into a feeling of euphoria; it suddenly felt good savagely feasting this way. I was confused, but I let the euphoria stamp out the feeling as I continued. The Hollow screeched and roared in pain; I stabbed my hand through its throat to silence it as I sucked out the last remnants of its soul. By this point, all vision in my left eye was gone.

" _Imuza, what's going on?"_ I asked her mentally.

She didn't respond.

The Hollow disintegrated and I was left on the ground on all threes. I stared at the sand beneath me, watching the blood drip from my chin and soak into the sand. Slowly, I got up and turned around to face Unohana and Isane.

I roared suddenly, and upon the completion of it, Isane put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Takashita," she called in a warning.

I tried to speak, but my vocal chords weren't responding.

Without another moment passing, I lunged at Isane.

She unsheathed her sword just in time to parry my attack, and just as soon as she flicked me off, I sprang back at her again.

"Takashita Azumi, can you hear me?" Unohana asked.

I tried responding again, but to no avail.

Unohana unsheathed her sword at my lack of response.

My spine tingled, and I could feel some type of growth all over my body. The growth was fairly progressing over my whole body, and I could feel something slithering down my left stub rapidly.

My arm…it was growing back.

I straightened out my fingers—which now were covered with the growth and more like claws—and I repeatedly attempted to stab Isane with them.

Whenever she would dodge, I'd go to whomever was closer between the two of them and attempt the barrage of stabbing motions at them. At one point, Isane dodged incorrectly, and I was able to backhand her fiercely into the ground.

As I tried to pounce on her, Unohana promptly cut me off with some type of energy blast that sent me flying back a couple yards.

" _Imuza! Can you hear me? What's going on? Why are we attacking them?"_ I asked in a panic.

Still no response.

Just what in the world happened to me? Why couldn't I control anything I did? Was this what happened to me earlier as well?

The vision in my right eye started to fade to black.

What would happen? Would they kill me, or I them? How was I supposed to break free of this?

Isane sped over to me and raised her hand. Before she could do anything, I jumped at her and tumbled with her along the ground. The tips of my claws pierced her shoulder, and I utilized the grip I had on her to use her as a pad against the ground.

As we thumped several feet back, I ended up landing on top of her. I growled at her and snipped at her face. She used all the power she had to push me up away from her. She reared her leg up and pushed me off her; violently ripping my claws out from her flesh. She winced from the pain of the extraction and quickly got to her feet.

Before she could make a move, Unohana jumped in with another energy blast at me. She made a direct hit that sent me flying across the sand. As I skid on the surface, she appeared behind me and slashed at my backside with that elegantly dangerous technique of hers.

I spiraled down to the ground and rolled face first into the sand.

I slammed my palm down at the sand and roared. My backside pulsated from the wound she gave me, and nevertheless I got up again to try and attack. With each step I took, the quicker each attack became. I raised _both_ hands up, and two balls of energy formed in each hand as I ran toward her.

When I almost reached her, I flung them both at her with monstrous strength. She dodged and the energy flew into the distance; the explosion far more huge than I thought it'd be.

I turned around again to try and chase her, but before I could leap forward, the pulsing feeling on my backside stretched clear across the span of my body. Something felt as if it was starting to emerge; one grotesque abnormality on each shoulder-blade. When I moved, they both cracked and felt as if I had broken a bone. Even though I couldn't control my vocal chords, I growled at the pain as I tried to shake it off.

Although the pain was excruciating, I bypassed Unohana entirely and launched a purple blast from my mouth at Isane. Instead of it keeping it's circular form; it erupted straight from my mouth in a tremendous beam-like blast. As Isane ran as fast as she could away from it, I followed her by turning my head after her.

In a flash, she came up from behind.

"Sokatsui!" She shouted, blue lightening from her hand hitting me point blank from behind.

I had one-forth of my vision left at this point.

The energy shooting out of my mouth ceased to stop; I took the hit without even flinching. To my shock and disbelief, my head spun all the way around to hit her directly with the blast.

She screamed and flew back from it.

"Danku!" Unohana shouted.

Immediately, a large rectangular force field barrier cut off the blast at Isane.

I didn't ease up; I roared viciously and powered up the blast to try breaking the barrier.

"Minazuki!" Unohana called.

Upon Unohana-s summon, a huge, one-eyed, green-colored monster appeared and crashed straight into me.

My blast stopped, and all efforts went into trying to fight off the new player in the game.

The monster—that immediately went into flight—roared at me, and I back at it. I snapped my teeth at it, and it swooped down for a landing—stomping me down with one of its feet in the process.

As I clawed at it, Unohana fled with Isane—no doubt taking her to a safe place to recuperate.

Minazuki—as Unohana called the giant—whipped my exposed body with its tail against the ground. The weight of the giant was bone crushing, and yet somehow I was able to withstand it. She rose up her tail again, and slammed it back down on me repeatedly.

Finally at one point, I grabbed its tail mid-slap to stop it; it pushed down on me in an attempt to break my hold. Quickly, I dug the claws of my right hand into her tail while my left hand launched a quick Cero into her foot. As it retracted both its tail and foot, I pushed myself up to a sitting position.

Immediately Minazuki shook it off and came at me again with its tail. I caught its tail, and—as a countermeasure—bit out a chunk of it. Minazuki screeched and upon doing so, subconsciously retracted its tail and leg.

I took the opportunity to get out from underneath it, and fled to open space.

The two protrusions on my back expanded as soon as I landed. They began to progress faster and moved as the being in control of my body commanded.

The protrusions spanned out, moving up and down in complete unison.

Suddenly, two weapons appeared in each of my hands. They looked like claws, and extended perpendicular to my forearms.

Just what were these things?

I looked up to see Minazuki flying toward me.

Before she made contact, all vision was lost, and I no longer had any connection to the outside world.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

Several hours had gone by, and the battle continued on. Kurosaki battled Ulquiorra alone and broke through the ceiling of the fake sky palace we were in. Espada-level Arrancar were crawling out like roaches and constantly kept all of us at bay in the meantime.

A little while ago, Kurosaki returned to us—evidently prevailing in his battle against Ulquiorra. He didn't seem too happy about the outcome, but I couldn't blame him. It's never a good feeling to take another's life; he was still so new in the realm of battles where lives are at stake. It's only natural to go through the emotions he's experiencing.

Beside Kurosaki's return; the others had taken in quite a bit of damage. Matsumoto wasn't in critical condition, but she wasn't in the best of circumstances either. She had taken quite a fair amount of hits and was getting sluggish with every passing moment.

Shihouin took out a lot of Arrancar, but she was definitely injured and in need of medical attention as well.

Kuchiki Rukia was desperately hanging on by a thread. Yamada came with the rescue squad luckily, so Kuchiki Byakuya aided in buying them enough time to escape. They were supposed to be headed toward Unohana and Azumi.

Hopefully they were doing okay; last time I checked, I felt their presence in the same spot. I'd been so preoccupied though that I hadn't—

Azumi's reiatsu skyrocketed out of control.

I pushed the Arrancar off me, and quickly finished him off by stabbing him and slashing Hyourinmaru out if him.

"What in the—" Kurosaki began, stopping himself short.

I looked over to the spot we left them to see they were gone.

Kotetsu's reiatsu was weak, and Unohana's definitely spiked.

Just what was going on? Who was attacking them? Arrancar?

"Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted at me.

I blocked my assailant's downward slash at me, and push kicked him off. Once he stumbled back, I flash-stepped behind him and slashed him from behind.

Before he could fall, Abarai's Zabimaru in its Bankai form crashed into him and crushed him with its teeth.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, go now before things get worse!" Abarai shouted at us.

I looked at the others—they all quickly nodded. With their permission, Matsumoto and I took off toward Azumi's reiatsu.

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about this one.

Just what was going on?

 


	47. Chapter 47

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

As soon as Matsumoto and I arrived on the scene, Azumi was in Hollow form fighting against Unohana's Minazuki.

Before making direct contact with the two of them, we scanned for Unohana and Kotetsu. We spotted them a little far off from the battle and immediately flashed over to them.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou," Unohana greeted us.

"Isane-chan!" Matsumoto kneeled down to her.

"Was it her?" I asked, taking in Kotetsu's bloodied figure in front of Unohana.

Unohana nodded.

"What happened?" I asked.

Unohana briefly explained the situation. She didn't know how to get through to Azumi; Azumi was possessed by her hunger and consumed by all the malevolent tendencies that came with it. Minazuki held her off for now, but according to Unohana, the more time that went by, the more Azumi evolved and the stronger she became.

Why was this happening now? Didn't she just learn to control her hollowfication?

"Thanks for keeping her at bay, Unohana; I'll take over from here. Focus everything on healing Kotetsu and Matsumoto." I told her.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, you aren't in the best condition yourself," she replied.

"She's right, Taichou," Matsumoto commented.

They were right, but maybe I could get through to her and figure out how to stop her. On top of that, I couldn't just sit still and let Azumi rampage and destroy everything.

"I'll be fine," I replied.

I took out Hyourinmaru before turning.

"I don't see any other option; the sooner everyone else is healed, the sooner you can help. Hopefully I'll be able to get through to her. Please call Minazuki back," I told the two of them.

Before they could reply, I took off toward the battle. As I hurried toward them, I could see Minazuki's giant form trying to take an offensive attack. I stood back for a moment to assess the situation; what I saw shocked me.

Azumi looked so much different.

She had Hierro completely covering every inch of her—I'd never seen so much of it on her. Her shoulders protruded with a thick patch of it that protruded outward; pointed and sharp enough to easily slice through whatever was unlucky enough to make contact. Her hands and feet were now claws, and she had her tonfa out now and was using the two of them to attack rather than her claws. Her mask was different from Imuza's normal mask; it seemed to still be forming, but still kept it's basic shape.

The biggest change I noticed however; were the massive, incomplete wings on her back. They had a bone-like outline at the moment, and skin growing in between the separated bones. I couldn't tell if they were going to sprout feathers or not at that point, but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually resembled Yoru no Shedo's. Near the mid section of her wings, a sharp spike protruded out of the core bone—for the purpose of inflicting damage?

Minazuki had scrapes and cuts all over its body, and was definitely pushing to keep up with Azumi. Minazuki suddenly bit Azumi and held her between its teeth as she shook her head violently. I knew that she wasn't going to kill her, but seeing it still sent me into a state of panic.

Minazuki suddenly took to the sky, and once she had gone high enough, attempted a risky move. She dove straight down, head-first toward the ground. The intent of it was to obviously severely injure Azumi; however, with how huge Minazuki was, an attack like this could cause immense self-inflicted damage.

Minazuki ascended downward quickly, and I watched with the highest anxiety of my existence as they crashed against the ground below.

A few seconds passed, and Minazuki fell to the side; Azumi still dangling from her mouth. Azumi opened Minazuki's mouth and was able to quickly escape Minazuki's hold.

Before Minazuki made her next move, she took a quick second to acknowledge my presence. Within that same second, Azumi took advantage of the distraction and slashed at her backside with her tonfa.

Minazuki was thrown from the force of it, and skid across the ground with a massive thump. Unohana must've sensed my arrival and called Minazuki back right after the blow.

Azumi stood there, staring directly at me. She roared, and without another moment passing, came at me.

Her force was surprising to say the least.

I blocked her attack, but flew back several feet from it. Just from the blow, I could already tell that I was going to have to use my bankai. I finally stopped myself, and just as soon as I did, Azumi was already coming back at me. Although with Minazuki's attack she was definitely injured and her spine should've been fractured at the very least, Azumi was still making her way toward me with relatively no issue. It couldn't be that she didn't take injury from Minazuki...

She screeched loudly and swiped at me with her tonfa. I blocked a few of her slashes, but she got my left shoulder deeply and it sent me down to the ground in less than a second.

"Azumi! Get a hold of yourself!" I shouted at her in an effort to see if she would respond at least a little.

She flapped her wings and ascended quickly above me. She roared again, and plunged downward at me.

"Bankai!" I shouted.

Right before the point of no retaliation, I used my own ice wings to send an airwave her way. It worked, and it slowed her down for just an instant; I used that to flash out of the way before she crashed head first against the ground.

As she tried to shake off the hit, I flew up into the sky and looked down upon her.

"Azumi, it's me, Toushirou; remember? I'm your friend; I'm here to help you!" I tried again.

She roared and flapped her wings to launch herself up toward me. She stared straight into me; unfazed and distant.

She didn't recognize me at all.

She had no idea what was going on, or what she was even doing. It was obvious that all she knew then and there was to attack.

She held her claws over her face, and quickly side-swept them past her eyes.

Everything went dark.

Great—she knew how to use Yoru no Shedo's attacks.

I prepared myself for the worst; I curled my wings around myself for a barrier. With her dramatically increased strength, I wasn't about to take any chances. Immediately she pounded away at the ice; chipping it away with each blow.

She kept going at it relentlessly; her attack not losing any power, and zero signs of fatigue. It wouldn't take her very long to break through entirely; as futile as it seemed, I had to keep trying to break through to her.

"Azumi— _Eve_ —let me help you," I prompted.

Still nothing—just continuous slashing at me.

I didn't know what else I could say to her; without her prior memories, there wasn't much I could use to trigger her. With the emotions she had for me, it was definitely easier to snap her out of it, but with only her memories of me from today, there wasn't much hope.

" _ **If I ever go out of control, please, do as you see fit as a Taichou,"**_ Azumi's previous words suddenly came to mind.

No.

I couldn't do that.

I couldn't…

Azumi's bashing against me stopped; her reiatsu spiking dramatically.

Was she forming a Cero?

" _ **Toushirou, please, don't let me hurt you or anyone else…please…"**_

Damn it.

Now wasn't the time to think about that.

I could feel her reiatsu stabilizing; it was now or never. I let my ice wings down and zeroed in on her reiatsu.

"Damn," I muttered through my gritted teeth.

I flashed at her with a stabbing attack. I aimed downward and to the right of where I sensed her in hopes that I wouldn't strike any of her vital spots in this darkness.

The Cero launched and took out my left wing completely.

Seconds after that moment, Hyourinmaru made contact with her. The feeling of it was light and only half the weight of a successful stab; I grazed the side of her it seemed. She must have dodged last second—thank God.

As I flew past her, I suddenly was smacked front and center by one of her wings; sending me flying straight to the ground.

I coughed up blood from the impact. The force behind the crash definitely broke a few of my ribs. Quickly and painfully, I got up and stood in a defensive position as my left ice wing tried to re-form.

She was lucky to have dodged that attack, however, how long would I be able to keep this up? I wasn't fighting with my full strength; if I didn't get serious, she would be the end of me. I didn't want to die, but could I really continue living if I…

Suddenly, I was able to hear Azumi's violent screeching. The muted area finally began to ease; Azumi's control must've been weakened by the minor attack.

Her screeching continued, and I could hear signs of struggle.

The darkness began to lighten; the white sand in front of me growing more visible by the second. I looked up at her and saw that my attack ended up working albeit in a miniscule increment; she was struggling to keep my ice from growing over her.

She tried dusting it off like dust on her clothing but to no avail. No matter how much she scraped off, Hyourinmaru's ice couldn't be discarded so easily. As it kept creeping up along her torso, the darkness subsided as it grew.

Azumi flapped her wings and took to the sky. She twirled and flashed at speeds I'd never seen before—trying to get the ice to fall off her. She landed far off into the distance and I immediately flashed over to her.

She landed on top of a boulder and wrapped her wings around herself; letting the ice completely consume her.

Should I call it off? If I did, would she still remain in her Hollow form? She didn't look like she was gradually changing back; her armor was still in tact from what I could see. The ice was almost completely covering her at that point; her screeching subsided into low growls as the only part of her left untouched were the tops of her wings.

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't just let her completely be consumed; it would mean her death.

Quickly, before it was too late, I called off the ice.

The ice stopped abruptly; leaving just a small opening for air at the very top of her. I crept up toward her; trying to sense her reiatsu, and trying to see if there was any movement coming from her.

Nothing but silence.

Her reiatsu was still heightened; she wasn't dead, but that didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't hurt from the ice.

I took another step closer to her.

Maybe she was starting to change back? Maybe the confinement and the injuries are triggering her to revert back to normal?

Of course neither of the options were the case; it would've been far too easy.

As if on cue, Azumi completely broke free of the ice and it shot out everywhere as she expanded her massive wings.

She roared in triumph it seemed, and looked directly at me afterward.

Faster than I could blink; she tackled me to the ground and we both tumbled and slid back against the sand.

As soon as we came to a stop, she held me down and head-butted me with the Hollow mask that still consumed her face—the fact that I wasn't completely knocked out from that hit shocked me. She forced my head to the side, and bit into the ice that covered my left shoulder. She stabbed through my left bicep completely in an effort to hold me down; I couldn't help but shriek in response.

Quicker than I expected, she got through the ice and bite deeply into my shoulder.

I screamed from the contact; she sucked my blood out relentlessly.

"Azumi! Stop! It's me, Toushirou! Try to remember!" I tried.

Nothing. Not even a passing glance.

I hated to do it, but…

I loosened my ice tail.

"Tenran!" I shouted.

I pushed my fingers against her chest and released the whirlwind kido. She flew up from the blast; her claws and teeth painfully and forcibly removed out of me.

As she began to fall, I used my tail to smack her away from me. She flew off to the side and crashed into the desert floor.

My shoulder and arm bled heavily; I could feel myself getting light headed. I stopped myself from my panting and took a deep breath. I summoned Hyourinmaru's ice to cover the wound; it wouldn't completely stop the bleeding, but at the very least it would lessen it until I could heal. I could feel the lack of control in my left arm; since she severed parts of my muscles, I'd be surprised if I could use my arm for longer than ten minutes.

Azumi got up and shook herself off. She flexed her wings and roared loudly before focusing back on me. Flapping her wings, she headed right back at me again.

Azumi's previous words kept repeating over and over in my head.

The fact that I was already feeling delusional from blood loss didn't help with the situation. There had to be something I could do to stop her without killing her; there had to be a way out of this with both of us walking out of here alive.

If I could get that so-called prodigal intellect of mine to work, that would be great right about now.

Azumi came down at me with her spin attack; in this form, it was almost as if she had it mastered. The darkness attack she'd done before was also executed almost flawlessly. There wasn't a question about how much her strength had advanced; the real question now was how was she able to keep her Hollow form while utilizing her known abilities.

With each move she made, her attacks became more coordinated. She thought out not only her move, but what my counter move would be, and how to use it against me. With her attacks this coordinated, would it be possible that it was actually Imuza in control?

Was this Imuza's personality with the memory loss? Azumi herself was timid and border-line cowardly—with legitimate reason—could that then mean that Imuza in turn was more malevolent than she was before?

I blocked another slash at me, and used one of my ice wings to quickly slap Azumi away. She caught herself from the blow and came back for more. She swiped at me with her tonfa again, and as I blocked, she suddenly completely changed her offense.

She low-kicked me and sent me flying clear across the playing field. She flash-stepped to my destination before I'd gotten there, and kicked me straight back toward where we were. She repeated the same process, except this time kicked me down toward the ground.

My ice wings cracked and fragmented off at the impact. With my current state, it was difficult keeping up with the ice armor; my reiatsu was diminishing quickly. I had enough if I really wanted to fight; but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

No matter what happened—that was Azumi in there. With, or without her memories, I still loved her more than anything in the world; I couldn't bring myself to take her life.

She pounced on me like a cat on its prey. I used the little strength I had to keep her off me, but was failing miserably. She clawed at me and snapped her teeth; my left over blood on her face dripping down her neck and back on to me.

"Azumi, please, stop," I tried again.

Nothing but her Hollow screeching.

Think.

Bakudo? No, it would only hold her back for a second. Hado wouldn't have any other effect aside from pushing her off me at this point; the only effective moves were with Hyourinmaru.

Aside from staring into Azumi's blood red eyes and keeping her off me with my injured arms; something white in the sky above her caught my eye briefly.

It was a cloud.

A fake cloud floating aimlessly in Aizen's fortress. For whatever reason, I thought of the sky in the Soul Society; back when time was unimportant.

I looked back at her, my grip on her claws wavering in the process.

This was no time to be daydreaming.

Wait a minu—

"That's it!" I said aloud.

"Azumi," I began.

She didn't say anything; her growling and teeth snapping continuous.

"Daydream!" I shouted.

Her growling stopped for just a moment; was it working?

"I dream of you amid the flowers; remember?" I asked.

Her growling stopped, and she looked directly into my eyes. Her force didn't let up, but I had her attention finally—thank God.

"Azumi, remember that song; remember _me_ when you think of those words!" I told her.

Her force faltered for a few moments, and I kept still; my grip on her wrists lightened, but still ready just in case.

"Azumi, can you sing that song for me?" I prompted.

Still no answer, just intense eye contact.

Someone once said that only music could soothe a beast—as embarrassing as it was, it was worth a shot.

"Daydream; I fell asleep amid the flowers; for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day," I said lightly in a higher pitch.

Her force let up completely.

She looked around, and then directly at me.

Was Azumi finally taking back control?

She frantically pushed herself off me, and looked at herself and everywhere frantically. She screeched and screamed while holding her head.

I let out the deep breath I'd been holding in for a while now, and propped myself up.

"Azumi, it's me, Toushirou; calm down, it's okay," I tried saying to her.

Suddenly, her reiatsu spiked out of control. Her tonfa disappeared, and she—frantically, and uncoordinatedly—flapped her wings fiercely.

"Taichou!"

Amidst Azumi's panic attack, Matsumoto, Unohana and Kotetsu arrived on the scene.

Unohana was already by my side, ready to start trying to heal me.

"What's happening?" Matsumoto asked.

"I think she's finally starting to take control," I answered.

As if on cue, Azumi screamed so loudly that all of our heads snapped back to her.

I pushed myself up—against Unohana's wishes—and was ready to go over there. Now that words were starting to process, maybe I could talk her down some more so that she could change back quicker.

Before I could take another step, Azumi took off into the sky. The strength in her wings were so powerful that she covered quite a distance with just one flap. She kept ascending higher and higher until she was almost to the roof of the fake sky.

The air thickened suddenly; her reiatsu rushed out of her as if a dam just burst.

Her scream was louder than it had ever been before.

She jerked around; holding her head and flapping her wings uncoordinatedly. She thrust her arms down as she screeched and her wings expanded in front of her. The two sharp spikes that grew out of her boney wings pointed straight in front of her as a bright, deep purple shade of energy formed in front of her.

A Cero?

She wasn't aiming at anything or anyone in particularly; what was she doing?

The Cero launched and blasted clear through the other side of the palace; several kilometers away.

The amount of power she exuded with that Cero was by far one of the highest reiatsu I'd ever felt.

Azumi was more powerful than I'd ever imagined.

The Cero lasted well over ten seconds; each one of those seconds seemed to drag out tremendously as I stood there completely in awe.

As the Cero erupted, Kurosaki appeared on the scene.

"What the—who is—" he stammered as he stared up at Azumi.

The Cero ended, and in its place in front of Azumi, the atmosphere appeared unstable—as if it had been affected by the energy like a material object.

Azumi's left wing suddenly separated off her and fell to the ground. Her Hierro quickly started falling off her in chunks, and then, suddenly, she plummeted down after them.

"Azumi!" I shouted.

I flash-stepped up to her as fast as I could.

As injured as I was, adrenaline shot through me as I rushed to her.

All her Hierro and her wings were now gone, the only thing left was Azumi in her normal form; passed out completely and descending head-first.

Mere feet left before the ground, I collided with her; the impact causing me to crash down to the ground. I took almost all of the blow luckily, and almost passed out from the abrupt contact. I coughed up blood as the others hurried toward us.

"Toushirou!" Kurosaki called.

I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and looked up at the group before trying to get up. Matsumoto hurried over and took Azumi temporarily from me until I stood back up to take her.

"Unohana-Taichou!" Kotetsu suddenly shouted, pointing up to where Azumi was previously in the sky.

In the sky—lingering in the atmosphere with flashes of lightening bolts around it—was a medium-sized gaping hole.

Without another moment passing, all of us flashed up to it for a better look.

"No way…" Kotetsu trailed.

"It's Karakura Town!" Kurosaki shouted.

Kurosaki was right; through the hole in the atmosphere was a clear view of Karakura Town.

"But how did this…" Kotetsu started.

"Azumi's Cero was so powerful, it must have torn between dimensions," Unohana tried elaborating.

"That's my Azumi-chan!" Matsumoto squealed, pumping her fists.

I inspected the unconscious female in my arms momentarily before returning my gaze back to the dimensional vortex. The lightening bolts cracked loudly around it sporadically; the opening didn't look safe or stable at all. However, if we didn't have a garganta, this could be our only opportunity to escape Hueco Mundo.

"Kurosaki," I turned to look at him.

"Where are the others? This looks like it's our only chance to get out of here." I said.

"At the moment, they're fighting Yammy; he's incredibly powerful—both Kenpachi and Byakuya are fighting him. Kurotsuchi showed up and told us he found out how to make a garganta; I came over not only because of Azumi's sudden spike in reiatsu, but to tell the rest of you as well." Kurosaki explained.

"That's great news!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

"Agreed, but he said he'd need a little time to set it up, so I think this would be the better alternative. We should get out while we—"

Kurosaki was cut off by the portal audibly shrinking in size. All our heads snapped over to it guardedly, making sure it wouldn't explode on us. After a few seconds passed, we all eased.

"Listen, this portal isn't going to last for long; I'm going through it so I can help the others against Aizen. Byakuya and the others said they have things under control and to figure out the quickest way for me to get to the World of the Living. As terrible as I feel leaving them here, I think it's the best we've got with the situation." Kurosaki said.

"I agree with you," Unohana began.

"The others in the World of the Living are going to need as much help as possible." She paused and turned to Kotetsu.

"Isane, stay here with Hanatarou and the others; I will go with him to help the others in the World of the Living. Now that Kurotsuchi-Taichou has figured out a way to create a garganta, they will need to heal after their battle and then they can come join us." Unohana instructed.

"Hai, Taichou," Kotetsu replied.

Unohana then turned to look at me.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, the two of you should join us with Azumi. The reason the two of you came here was to rescue her; now seems like the perfect opportunity to escape the battle momentarily. She would be less threatened in the World of the Living than she would be here, and there is a higher chance of escape there than here." Unohana explained.

I didn't even have to take a second to think it over.

"I agree; let's go." I replied.

"Isane, please inform the others, and please be safe." Unohana told her.

"Hai, Taichou; you as well." Kotetsu said.

She curtly bowed and then took off.

Instantly, Kurosaki leapt through the portal. I ushered Unohana and Matsumoto in first, and followed immediately with Azumi in my arms.

I stared down at her injured, almost lifeless form.

We weren't out of the woods yet, but I was able to take her back.

This at the very least _was a start._


	48. Chapter 48

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

We entered the outskirts of Karakura Town.

We were next to an all white, tower-like pillar which upon taking in the scenery, was one of four that outlined the fake town. This must've been what they used to transport the actual town to the Soul Society.

The battle wasn't too far away; it was right in the center of everything. I could feel all the familiar reiatsu pumping out from various people, but the one that I cared about the most was Aizen's. He wasn't necessarily exuding it because he was fighting; he let it flow out if him almost as if he wanted to prove that we were out of our league—it pissed me off.

"Unohana," I began.

"Is Inoue Orihime here, or was she relocated to the Soul Society with the rest of the town?" I asked.

"She should be stationed here with a few from Squad Four. The last I heard, they decided to make their base around her replica home. They may have decided on a different location, but unfortunately we didn't stay long enough to make sure the original plan didn't change." Unohana replied.

"You guys go heal up, I'll see you on the battlefield." Kurosaki said.

Without another word, he took off—the fool. As much as all of us wanted to absolutely destroy Aizen; the wise thing to do was to go after him at 100%. He wasn't a weakling; he was powerful and deadly. Taking him on without thinking it completely through was a rookie move.

"I agree with you, Hitsugaya-Taichou; we should go to the medical headquarters first and prepare as quickly as possible for this. The two of you are injured; we need to get your wounds tended to immediately." Unohana said.

"Which way is it to get to Inoue Orihime's home?" Unohana asked.

"It's this way; follow me," Matsumoto replied.

We followed her through the city streets until we finally arrived at Inoue's.

The door was unlocked and we walked in without so much as a knock.

"Orihime-chan! It's me, Rangiku!" Matsumoto announced as we entered.

"Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-Taichou, Unohana-Taichou!" the ten members of Squad 4 greeted respectfully.

"Oh my goodness! You guys!" Inoue hurried us in as she saw our wounds.

Unohana shut the door behind us and hurried over to her squad.

"You 3, please tend to Azumi; Inoue, please focus on Hitsugaya-Taichou. You 3, we're going to the battlefield to see if anyone else needs to be brought in. The 4 of you left, please stay here until further notice." Unohana instructed.

"Hai, Taichou!" All of them said in unison.

Immediately Unohana and the 3 she chose for her reinforcement, took off.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, please set her down in this area we've prepared," one of the Squad members asked.

I put her down, and immediately the pain in my shredded bicep decreased tenfold. I felt dizzy and light-headed; it was a good thing that we came here first. I couldn't go into battle like this; I wouldn't make it out alive.

Matsumoto came to my side and looped her arm through mine.

"Come on, Taichou," she said lightly as she pulled me forward.

I could still walk, but I let her assist me anyway. With all the blood loss and the last of my adrenaline gone, I wouldn't be surprised if I passed out.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou, please, sit down here," Inoue motioned to a spot on the floor with padding.

I sat down—vision full of stars and nauseous—and let her start to heal me. As the orange healing barrier covered me, Inoue placed a hand on my arm gently and her other hand on Matsumoto.

"You did it; you brought her back, Hitsugaya-Taichou, Rangiku-san; you both really did it," She smiled, eyes glistening with tears.

All of us looked over at the sleeping female in unison.

I should have been gleaming along with her, but my thoughts drifted back to the sad reality of what happened to Azumi.

I looked away from her and back down to my own hands.

"Orihime-chan; there's something you should know," Matsumoto started.

Matsumoto told her everything—all the sickening things that happened to Azumi within the past 6 days. Inoue couldn't help but weep.

"I-I'll be right back," Inoue stuttered, wiping the tears off her face as she stood up.

She walked out of the room to collect herself, and Matsumoto and I exchanged brief glances before sitting there in silence. The Squad members worked diligently on Azumi; I had completely blocked them out during Matsumoto's recap on Azumi.

One of them got up and walked over to the two of us.

"Excuse my intrusion," The squad member began.

"Her name is Takashita Azumi, correct?" He asked; the two of us nodded and then he continued.

"Is Takashita-san pregnant by any chance?" He asked.

I clenched my fists.

Matsumoto answered for me before I could.

"Yes she is." She replied.

"How far along is she?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, there are extenuating circumstances to it; I'd say roughly three-five months. Why? What's happening?" Matsumoto stood up.

"She's having severe internal bleeding; whatever happened in Hueco Mundo has caused serious injury to her organs. We've properly dressed her wounds and performed some emergency stitching, however, she needs to be taken in for closer observation along with emergency surgery. This bleeding could not only be affecting her, but the fetus as well. We'll see right now if we can make an accurate assessment on the fetus, but as for Takashita-san, she needs serious medical help as soon as possible." He explained.

I closed my eyes in frustration.

"Thank you for your assessment; please keep us notified." Matsumoto responded.

"Thank you, if you'll excuse me," he said before returning.

I didn't even have to open my eyes to know that Matsumoto was staring at me. The situation repeatedly made me want to violently destroy Hajime—it repeatedly made me loathe myself for not getting there in time; the guilt was so overwhelming that I couldn't just snap myself out of it no matter what I did.

"I'm going to go have a look," Matsumoto announced to no one in particularly.

I heard her walk away, and opened my eyes to stare over at Azumi. The Squad members surrounded her; making it impossible for me to get a visual of her from my seated position.

Matsumoto looked at her for a few moments before running her fingers through her hair and holding her arms. She shook her head and asked the Squad members if there was anything she could do to help. They politely rejected her offer, but thanked her for her kindness. She nodded and turned back around to return to my side.

She sat down next to me, staring into her hands in thought.

"She looks bigger than she did earlier," she commented.

"I noticed it slightly earlier; her stomach protrudes now," I replied, staring into the backs of the Squad members working on her.

"Do you think her hollowfication had anything to do with it?" she asked.

"Probably," I responded with an unintentional huff.

"Taichou," she started.

I looked up at her.

"When this war is all said and done with, what do you plan on doing about this?" She asked, referring to the fetus.

I took a deep breath and looked back toward Azumi before crossing my arms.

"My best to keep it alive—since that's what she wants. The Soul Society will ultimately decide if they want to keep it alive, but, no matter what the decision, I'll fight for what she wants." I replied.

"And what about Azumi-chan? What do you plan to do about…well,"

I knew what she was trying to imply—she wanted to know about our relationship with one another.

"She doesn't remember anything; there isn't anything I can do. I'm not going to force her to feel that way about me. If she does then yes, I'd be happy, but it would still be difficult and sad even so. She's still Azumi, and I still feel the same way about her even with her memory loss and different personality. Whatever she decides to do is her choice; I'll be there to support her in whatever she chooses to do." I concluded.

"Taichou, you never cease to amaze me," Matsumoto replied, a light and eased tone in her voice.

I didn't look at her; just over in Azumi's area.

Inoue came back at that point and sat down in front of me.

"I'm back; how do you feel?" She asked; a forced, small smile on her face.

"I'm all right," I replied.

"My neck wound seems to have stopped bleeding," I looked at it in confirmation; the wound itself was already closed shut.

"How much longer do you think it will be until I'm fully healed?" I asked.

"I'm not sure exactly; hopefully not too much longer," she replied.

"Inoue, when I'm done healing, could you please try to heal Azumi?" I asked.

She took a moment, and looked over at her before replying.

"Of course I can try; I don't know how much I can do, but I'll try my best." She replied.

"Thanks, Inoue; I owe you." I replied.

About 30 minutes passed, and I felt well enough to get going. My ribs felt like they weren't cracked anymore and back in place. My left arm's muscles seemed to be repaired as well, albeit still sore and tender. As much as I wanted to be at 100%, I couldn't let the others wait any longer—who knows just what's happened out there.

"Okay, Inoue, that's enough for me for now. Thank you," I said, as I started propping myself up.

"Are you sure? You're not fully healed," she replied.

"I'll be fine for now; Matsumoto and I need to go and help the others. Please, focus on trying to get Azumi healed. Maybe with your powers she could at the very least regain her arm," I shrugged.

"Taichou, that's a great idea!" Matsumoto beamed.

"With Orihime-chan's powers, maybe we could at least get her arm back!"

Orihime gulped before lightly giggling. "I'll do my best!" She smiled.

"Thank you," I said as I got up.

I walked over to Azumi and waved off the Squad members working on her; they stopped and backed out of the way. I crouched down beside her—she was still unconscious, but breathing steadily at the very least.

"Azumi," I called.

No reaction.

I set my hand on her shoulder and lightly shook her.

"Azumi, it's me, Toushirou," I tried again.

She stirred lightly, and I patted her shoulder.

"Hey, wake up," I tried again.

Nothing.

She settled and her breathing deepened again. I wasn't surprised; she was normally out for a couple hours when she lost control of herself. With the battle to come, I just wish that I could've at least bid her farewell before going. On top of that, she didn't know Inoue; I didn't want her to freak out on her. But, unfortunately with her passed out, there was no helping it.

I let go of her and stood up.

"Remember, she doesn't know who any of you are. If you tell her you know Matsumoto and I, she should be okay. Just be careful nevertheless." I said to Inoue.

"Hai," she replied.

Inoue sat down next to her and began to heal her.

"When this is all over, I'm taking you out on a day of rest and relaxation, Orihime-chan! You're the best; keep working hard!" Matsumoto smiled and hugged her.

"Sounds like fun, Rangiku-san! I can't wait! Let's all go together, okay?" Inoue told us, looking at Matsumoto and then myself.

I let a small smile curve up the corner of my lips. I seriously owed Inoue a lot for always healing us; it was the least I could do.

"Ready, Matsumoto?" I asked.

"Hai, Taichou!" She said seriously, getting up.

"See you soon, Orihime-chan!" Matsumoto waved.

"Be safe!" She replied.

The two of us walked out the door and took off.

-[×]-

An hour went by since we left Inoue's.

Immediately upon our arrival we were forced into action. Aizen, Gin, Tousen, and Hajime were all trapped within a ring of fire that the Soutaichou must've made with his Zanpakuto.

I fought against an Espada named Harribel; an Espada who could utilize water as I could—albeit differently. Matsumoto went up against three of that Espada's fraccion; she assured me that she could handle the three of them, and urged for me to fight one on one with the Espada.

I took her up on the offer and have been fighting against Harribel ever since. Matsumoto was clearly taking a beating from the three of them; she held her own, but it wouldn't be too much longer until they got the jump on her. I had to finish this quickly.

"Worried about your subordinate?" Harribel asked before attacking me.

"That's none of your concern," I replied; shoving her off and counter attacking.

We exchanged several blows until I heard the three fraccion bickering. I kept on guard and kept my eyes on their leader, however I kept a listening ear on them.

As one of them attempted to attack Matsumoto, a familiar reiatsu then and there spiked; an attack from Matsumoto's side blocking the fraccion's attack.

"You can't afford to focus on anything other than me!" Harribel said as she tried to stab me.

I dodged it and sent several ice dragons her way. I followed them in for my next attack all while my thoughts ran amuck in my head.

That reiatsu…

It was...

" _Hinamori…why are you here?"_

Hinamori set up one of her kido traps and snared all three of the fraccion at once. She used her Zanpakuto to execute a blow through her trap—which worked flawlessly.

In the meantime, Harribel was hardly showing any form of vulnerability. I kept my attacks up relentlessly, waiting for the opportunity to get in a critical blow. I wasn't in bankai yet; I wanted to wait until I fully gaged her to see if it was necessary or not. However, even though I didn't want to use it, as time went by, I just wanted the battle to be over with.

The three fraccion—using each of their right arms—formed a giant chimera beast. Within seconds, the beast took out Matsumoto and Hinamori effortlessly.

I grit my teeth as I watched the two of them go down. I wanted to help, but was stuck in the middle of a battle myself. With one glance down at them, Harribel took the opportunity to try and get the jump on me.

I blocked her, and shoved her off with another attack.

" _Matsumoto…Hinamori…"_

Luckily, Kira and Hisagi both showed up then. Kira took Matsumoto and Hinamori and began to heal them while Hisagi took on the beast.

It wasn't very long until the beast had the upper hand on the two of them as well. Hisagi was down, and the beast was heading straight for Kira, Hinamori and Matsumoto.

Before the beast was about to reach them, the Soutaichou appeared, and took it on with little hesitation. After a few attacks, the beast was down and the Soutaichou had won.

He took down the three fraccion controlling the beast, and sent them down to the ground with immense burns.

I could sense my opponent focusing on her subordinates, and took the opportunity to try and get the jump on her with a downward slash. She pushed me back, and was able to evade damage.

Immediately, something in Harribel cracked.

Her hollow-centered blade filled with a bright yellow reiatsu, and she began to fight so aggressively that she was able to push me back with ease. After a barrage of attacks, she took the zipper at the bottom of her jacket and began to unzip herself. As her clothing separated and loosely flapped with the breeze; I was so able to see just what she was trying to reveal.

On her right, inner breast—cradled by her Hierro—was a black tattoo of the number 3.

"Third-ranked in strength; you do seem to fit the rank." I commented.

She looked over at me—almost angrily—and replied.

"I don't recall ever showing you the true extent of my power,"

She finished unzipping her jacket; revealing to me that her Hierro covered the rest of her chest and neck along with more than half of her face. She started to charge at me, and I quickly already knew that I had to use it.

"Bankai!" I shouted, releasing my Zanpakuto.

If I hadn't have released it when I did, she would've definitely had me. I evaded her attack as quickly as possible, and moved in with one of my own.

Her speed increased dramatically, but luckily with my bankai, so did mine. As she tried striking me, I quickly evaded and countered. We went through a couple rounds, until the two of us both paused briefly.

"Your speed is impressive," Harribel commented.

"Thanks for the compliment, I could say the same about you," I replied.

"Although it's impressive, it still won't be enough to defeat me."

After her statement, she exerted an insane amount of reiatsu, and went in for the attack. She began launching small attacks of water, and I blocked them all before charging back at her. She—with minimal effort—stopped my counterattacks.

"Your power is pitiful," she said as she pushed me away.

She came at me as I stopped myself, and I luckily was able to freeze her before she could inflict any damage.

"With my ice Zanpakuto, I can utilize any form of water to do my bidding; all water is my weapon. Your weapon is mine for the taking," I informed her.

She chuckled before responding. "I can finish you off whenever I please,"

"Hirviendo," she announced.

All the ice around us melted instantly with a wave of her palm; she called the water up to her, and let it linger around her.

"If you are able to utilize my attack as your weapon, then the reverse is also possible—that is the iron-clad rule of battle."

She rose her arm up and looked down upon me.

"Cascada!"

Immediately, all the water she'd gathered formed a large whirlpool that she threw down at me.

Last second, I created a wall of ice as a barrier to at least minimize the damage I'd receive. The attack was more powerful than I expected; it shot me down to the ground within seconds and almost completely penetrated the barrier I created.

If I hadn't made the barrier—her attack would have killed me.

As the attack came to an end, I stayed within the barrier I'd created to assess the situation before my next engagement.

"Come out; I know you're still alive," Harribel called.

I broke the ice, and looked up at her for a moment before my next attack.

"I realize what the iron-clad rule of battle is; I don't need a child's lecture from you!" I shouted.

I used Guncho Tsurara as an opening attack.

Before the attack even reached her, she melted my ice again. Mid-air—directly after she melted my ice—I reformed it again just in time and was able to land a hit.

"Hyoru Senbi!" I shouted, freezing her entirely in ice.

It didn't take her very long to break free. As soon as she did, I appeared above her, ready to commence my next attack.

We exchanged several element controlling blows; she took out one of my ice wings almost completely with a Cero, and I retaliated to a rooftop momentarily to attempt regenerating it.

As I kept an eye on her, I looked around to see that we both were waiting for the same thing—water to gather around the area for our strongest attack.

"It looks like we both want the same thing," I announced, capturing her attention.

"The only downside to your plan is that I don't have to technically _wait_ for the water to gather around the area for my attack,"

As I prepared to for my next attack, Komamura's reiatsu suddenly made itself known to me. My head snapped in the direction of it, and I saw that he, Kira, Hisagi, Matsumoto and Hinamori were all within attack range.

They were all in danger.

"What's wrong? Are you hesitating because of your comrades below?" She asked, completely reading my mind.

"Be quiet," I angrily snapped back.

I thought about it quickly, and finally came up with a solution.

"Sennen Hyouro!" I shouted.

Several large ice pillars all rose up instantly. Before Harribel could do anything, they all gathered together and closed in on her quickly.

Harribel melted the ice before she could take too much damage, and launched back toward me with her Cascada attack.

I had to think fast.

If I evaded the attack, the others below would all die from it.

I only had a few seconds to decide what to do.

Almost all of them were injured and couldn't move away at all; I had no choice.

"Ryusenka!" I shouted, flash-stepping toward it.

"It's no use; now that there is water in the area, this attack is on a completely different level than my prior one. You can't stop it," I heard Harribel say.

This was the only attempt I could think of to stop the attack. I used almost all of my reiatsu freezing it as it pushed me back toward the others.

After a tremendous amount of persistence and energy; I was able to freeze the attack. I felt faint and couldn't stop myself from falling down to the ground.

As I crashed onto the ground below, my ice wings shattered and broke my fall. I could barely even keep my eyes open at that point as I laid there. Harribel hovered over me in the air, and praised me.

"I'm impressed you were able to stop it, however, that won't be enough," she said.

I willed myself with all of my might to take Hyourinmaru in my hand and stand up. I pumped out almost all of the little remnant of reiatsu I had left to help regenerate my ice wings. As I regenerated, the weather began to change along with me; storm clouds rolling in, and quickly changing the sky because of my reiatsu.

I flew up to the sky, and looked down upon Harribel as I steadied my breathing.

"My Zanpakuto, Hyourinmaru, is the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto in the Soul Society. Because of that, the entire sky is at my command."

I rose Hyourinmaru up toward the sky, not losing eye contact with her.

"Hyouten Hyakkasou,"

The clouds opened up in a section above me, and it began to snow.

Each snowflake—in its flower-petal form—came down slowly, and as Harribel tried to avoid it, her efforts proved to be futile.

She tried to unfreeze the petals, however, she quickly realized it was useless. One of the petals made contact with her, and instantly sprouted an ice flower on her. From that, it spread throughout her body like wildfire, and before she knew it, she was completely encased in a pillar of ice.

As the ice froze over completely, I landed on a nearby rooftop; letting my bankai slip away so that I was in my normal form, and nearly collapsing from my landing. Komamura nodded up at me, and with that I took a few seconds to catch my breath. I was so unbelievably tired from that fight that sleep sounded wonderful. However, we were in the middle of a showdown; I couldn't give up this easily.

Unohana appeared at that point, and began to heal me.

It wasn't more than ten minutes before things took a turn for the worse.

A huge garganta appeared, and opened in front of where Aizen and the others were kept.

An extremely large, grotesque-looking creature with nothing more than one eye, emerged through the garganta, and stopped right in front of Aizen and the others. Once the garganta closed, the creature inhaled deeply, and blew out the air at Aizen's entrapment.

It blew out the fire—releasing Aizen and the others.

**Takashita Azumi**

I opened my eyes and inhaled loudly; as if I were muffled and now taking my first breath of air. I shot up and looked around; panting.

My left arm…it was back.

I screamed.

Sudden pain radiated in my skull tremendously.

"A-Azumi-chan! It's okay! Calm down! What's wrong?" a feminine voice asked.

I looked up to see a familiar orange-haired female rushing toward me with several other people along with her.

"O-Orihime!"


	49. Chapter 49

**Takashita Azumi**

"W-Wait, but Hitsugaya-Taichou said that you lost your memories…" she trailed, wiping a tear.

I held out my _left arm_ in front of her, stretching out my fingers and twirling my wrist.

"See this? It was completely gone before, but you were able to restore it perfectly! I did lose my memories, but you must've been able to heal my brain just like you did for my arm! I don't know what I'd do without you!" I hugged her again with every fiber of my being.

I pushed myself back—as much as I didn't want to—and looked the sorely missed female in her eyes.

"But Orihime, I need to know right now before anything else,"

I let go of her and looked down at my protruding stomach; resting a hand on it, and lightly caressing it. I looked back up at her and took a deep breath; fierce determination in my eyes.

"Where is everyone?"

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

The creature screeched so loudly, everyone covered their ears in fear that their eardrums would rupture.

The flower pedestal I entrapped Harribel in shattered like glass within seconds of the being's screech. Harribel floated there—still alive—and panted.

Unohana had only arrived fifteen minutes ago to heal me; I wasn't fully recovered from the fight. I had most of my reiatsu back, but I still needed more time to recuperate. At that point with Harribel back and Aizen free, I had no choice but to cut the healing short and move forward.

"Thanks, Unohana, go heal the others down there please," I told her as I stood up.

"Please, be safe," she cautioned before flash-stepping away to the others below.

I took a deep breath and headed up to Harribel; Hyourinmaru out and ready.

"I'm surprised you were able to survive that," I commented to her.

"A move like that wouldn't have—"

Harribel was unexpectedly cut off by an action I never expected.

A slender sword stuck out through Harribel; the two of us shocked into silence.

"Aizen-Sama doesn't want a weakling like you around anymore,"

Hajime had stabbed through Harribel with ease, and removed his blade quickly to stab her several more times—each one faster than the blink of an eye.

Harribel coughed blood and hunched over. Hajime stabbed through her chest with one of his attacks; her breathing sounded wet and restricted.

"W-Why? A-Aizen—"

Hajime stabbed through her throat mid-sentence.

"I already told you; _you're a weakling._ You couldn't even take down _one_ Taichou. You're worthless." Hajime told her, a twisted grin on his face.

He retracted his sword from her throat, and she fell down immediately toward the ground; her deceased body shattering internally on her landing.

"You're stronger than I thought you would be, Hitsugaya," Hajime said, bringing my attention back up to him.

He whipped his sword in the air to remove Harribel's blood off it, and inspected it as if I wasn't even there.

"Hajime," I growled.

"Hitsugaya," he answered casually back.

"I'm glad you're here," I told him.

He looked up at me questioningly, and I released my bankai wordlessly.

"I finally get to enjoy violently killing you," I said venomously through my teeth.

He smirked, and before he could say anything, I charged at him.

He parried my attack with his sword, and pushed me back. I came at him again immediately at all angles; he blocked each and every one of them. I managed to push kick him, and he flew back from the motion.

He caught himself, then dusted himself off and laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked angrily.

After finishing his chuckle, he looked up at me and waved his sword precariously.

"What's _funny_ you ask? The fact that I won; that's what's funny! I was the one who not only stole her virginity, but impregnated her. On top of that, she's now subservient to me; I won her mind as well. I'm sure you're just boiling with anger inside; it brings a smile to my face seeing you this angry over your defeat." He laughed and held his sword down at his side.

"The only thing that really gets to me however, is the fact that she doesn't remember either of us. The victory would've been that much sweeter if she remembered." He smirked.

If I wasn't already angry, I became furious the moment when he finished his victory speech more than ever before—this bastard directly hit a nerve. I could feel myself slipping; losing control of myself in my anger.

"You call that _a win_?" I began, my hands trembling from my fury.

"You're a sick, demented bastard. She doesn't want, or even care about you; the only thing she does is fear you for all the torture you put her through! You may have taken those things from her as well as from me, but the one thing you most definitely didn't steal from her is her heart. Regardless if she remembers me or not, her heart doesn't belong to you, nor will it ever. You won't ever have a chance with her again; you're not leaving here alive. I'm here to make you pay with your life for all the horrible things you've done to her!" I pointed Hyourinmaru up at him.

"Say your prayers, Hajime,"

I created a huge ice dragon which circled around me as I charged him again, full force.

"Ryusenka!" I shouted.

He sprang right back at me—his sword pointed at me with a stab attack. I dodged his attack and continued on with the Ryusenka. I aimed in particularly to the shoulder I'd injured before. They didn't have Inoue on their side; there was no way that he would've been able to heal from the wound. It was covered and wrapped in what appeared to be fresh bandages; at the most maybe he had stitches, but there was only one way to find out.

He barely was able to slip away from my attack, and the huge iced flower created by the attack floated in the air behind me. He appeared beside me and reared his leg back in an effort at a high kick to my face. The ice dragon around me took the hit, and I ducked out of the way as I tail-whipped him in response. He hopped over my tail, and gathered blood from one of my open wounds over to him.

He transformed the liquid into five long, thin spikes—as he did before—and shot all of them at me from different directions. I was able to evade four of them, but the fifth one ended up stabbing through my right calf. I bent down quickly and roughly yanked out the rod; wincing from the pain of my ripped muscle.

Hajime didn't wait; he was in front of me instantly with his palm outstretched at me. A silver, glowing orb formed in his hand. I flashed out of the way, successfully getting out of the way of his Cero in time.

I flash-stepped down to the ground, away from his rapid fire of Cero at me. Once I landed, I commenced my next attack.

"Sennen Hyouro!"

I raised Hyourinmaru as the ice pillars circled around Hajime. He looked at the pillars and then back down at me.

"You honestly think this will stop me, Hitsugaya?" He shouted before laughing.

I shut the ice on him to shut him up; his laughter pissed me off just as much as his existence.

I looked over to where Komamura and the others were and saw they'd left. A few new entities had made themselves present; they gathered near the Soutaichou and some of the others. I didn't recognize any of them, but it was obvious to see that they were Aizen's enemy. Whether they were our friend or foe was yet to be determined, but at the very least we had some time.

I could hear a loud cracking and knew that my time was almost up. I felt Hajime's reiatsu spike as the cracking of my ice pillars continued.

I changed my location and left an ice replica of myself in my previous place. I masked my reiatsu and positioned myself above the top of the ice prison.

It shattered, and Hajime panted beneath me. Other than his panting, he hardly seemed scathed by the attack. He took the bait I left, and bit his thumb to gather blood. He shot his own blood at the ice replica, and as he did, I shot my own icicles at him from above.

He heard the attack coming, and moved out of the way. One of the icicles struck his shoulder blade lightly, and he quickly turned around to grin up at me.

"I'll bet you think you're soooo smart, don't you?" He asked.

I didn't answer—I dive bombed with Hyourinmaru out at him. He evaded my attack, and grabbed hold of my ice tail after I passed him. He swung and released me off to the side, and I flew from the gesture momentarily before catching myself.

As soon as I caught myself, Hajime stabbed through my ice wing and through my shoulder from behind.

"Like my rapier, Hitsugaya? It's sharp isn't it?" Hajime asked as I winced.

He pulled it out effortlessly, and I—without hesitation—flashed out of the way. I took a moment to breathe while he stood there staring at his—what I now knew—rapier. He had it held up vertically in front of him as he watched the remnant of my blood slither down toward the hilt.

He licked some of it up—like the _disgusting animal_ he is—and smirked up at me after he swallowed.

"Tell me, are you familiar with the World of the Living's folklore?" He asked me.

I wiped the blood off my shoulder before replying.

"Not at all," I replied.

He shook off his rapier and held it back up to inspect the guarded hilt of it.

"Well, I'm feeling rather playful today, so while you stand there trying to analyze me for your next attack; let me tell you a little story." He said as he held his blade down to his side.

"Unlike most folklore that dates back several centuries; the tale I'm about to tell you only dates back to a few decades ago. The tale originated in a country far from here—a country of Spanish decent. In this country, something unexplainable began to happen; the countrymen and farmers couldn't understand exactly what to make of the occurrence."

"Cattle, goat, and other varieties of animals suddenly began to decease. The animals had no ailments; they were healthy, lively creatures that the farmers used for their bidding. They were well kept—often gated or left in a barn overnight for protection—and yet they still kept dying." He paused to shrug.

"Humans in this day and age have technological advances whereas in centuries past they could do nothing to dig deeper into phenomenon. So, the humans began to inspect the creatures. Upon their examinations, they discovered that on each and every one of the creatures, two holes pierced the creatures flesh. Some of the animals had holes along their necks while others had them along their torso or sometimes legs. When they looked closer, the only thing they came to a conclusion with, was that the two holes were made from teeth. Something bit these creatures, yet whatever it was didn't make any efforts in mutilating their bodies or consuming their flesh." Hajime paused to crack his neck before he continued.

"Mystery number 1; check. The humans decided to venture further in their experiments and decided upon blood testing the animals. However, when the needle pierced their veins, there was nothing to extract. Baffled by lack of materials, they proceeded with a full-on autopsy. When they cut the creatures open, each of them had absolutely no blood in them—not even one or two drops to spare. The calamity of the deceased animal mystery spread like wildfire across the nation. Rumor spread throughout the country and into other countries as well. Rumor that a mysterious being now roamed the earth scared millions; humans took precautions in fear that the calamity would jump from animals to humans." Hajime explained.

"One fateful night, a woman heard the cattle outside by the barn shrieking and stomping around. Her and her husband grabbed their only weapon—a pitchfork as hilariously cliché as it is—and quietly crept outside. As they turned the corner of their house to get a view of the two, they heard a low growl and a single word that became the new name of the creature." He paused for emphasis.

" _Chupacabra_." He said with a heavy accent to his voice.

"They heard the creature mutter the word, and as they turned the corner to peek, they saw the creature hunched down over the cattle. According to them, the creature wasn't human, nor was it animal. Rumors from then forward of the ' _Chupacabra_ ' began to spread even more so than just the rumor of a creature. Some claimed alien life finally decided to pay a visit to earth while others believed it was a biblical sign of demonic presence. Out of the two of those assumptions, I'd like to say that I like the demonic one. It's befitting for the creature." He smiled.

I didn't feel like humoring him and having him continue. I held Hyourinmaru up and pointed it at him.

"As much as I'd love to hear the rest of your folklore; reaming my Zanpakuto through your blackened heart sounds a lot better to me." I replied.

"Impatient aren't we?" Hajime laughed.

"Fine, fine, let's continue! I wouldn't want the ice king to 'lose his cool,'" Hajime grinned.

I charged at him.

"Hyouro Senbi!" I slashed my sword in the air, sending a wave of ice directly at him.

"Indulge in the blood of the innocent, _Chupacabra_ ," Hajime murmured as he let the ice wave crash into him.

The ice broke upon contact—as if it had absolutely no solidity about it. Hajime was unscathed, and smirking at me as his eyes began to change.

The same black of Azumi's eyes quickly spread through his; his irises changing their hue rapidly as well to a steel silver color. He thrust out his free hand to his side; white Hierro quickly began to cover his skin from his fingertips back to the rest of his body. Sharp, thick spikes grew from the Hierro on his arms; two on each forearm that stuck outward. A few more formed on his shoulders as well as the armor crept up his neck and to his face. Along his spine, a lengthy reptilian tail grew from the armor, silver and green markings along either side of it. His legs were enveloped with the armor as well; his feet now turned to claws just as his hands had.

His mask was befitting; it matched his monstrous personality. With the reptilian theme of the rest of his body, one would think his mask would follow suit—it didn't. Instead of a flat mask that remained congruent with his normal facial frame; his mask protruded outward as a canine's would. It covered every inch of his of his head; spikes ran from just above the center of his forehead back down his neck and toward his spine. Sharp teeth outlined his snout; four fangs larger than the rest and protruding.

He truly did look like a monster.

"So, your story wasn't merely to pass off your boredom—I figured you had some reason behind it." I commented.

"At the beginning of my life, Aizen-Sama left me in this wretched dimension to satisfy my thirst for blood and souls; I learned much here in this realm, and even became legendary. Compared to someone like you who has lived longer; I've accomplished more than you could ever possibly imagine. You are nothing; you will never be remembered, and never leave any trace in any of the realms."

Hajime paused and pointed back toward where the other battles took place.

"The new arrivals over there; they were previous Taichou and Fukutaichou class in the Soul Society. Did you even know they existed? Of course you didn't; just like them, none of you will ever leave your footsteps here. You will never become anything remotely memorable; your existence means nothing." Hajime continued.

"I will rule all the realms, I will be remembered, and I will rise. I was created to dominate; anything less is unacceptable."

"Is that so?" I couldn't help but smirk.

"Your lack of intelligence is comical; you honestly believe that? Aizen created you for his own devices; I'm sure the last thing on his mind is to ever allow you to rule anything. Aizen is a twisted, conniving bastard; whatever he's told you about your future are all lies. Once you are no longer useful to him, he'll get rid of you. To think you even have a chance to rule anything is hysterical." I replied.

I could see his face scrunch in anger briefly—he quickly brushed it off and chortled.

"I don't expect a _fool like you_ to understand; you're too much of a weakling anyway. Honestly, who in their right mind would rush blindly into enemy territory to save a lost cause? You're so blinded by your emotions that your mentality is weak; you're an irrational— _not to mention small_ —child. I simply can't expect you to understand a rational individual." Hajime chortled with a shrug.

It was hard, but it took everything to not let the 'small' comment frazzle me.

"I don't need a lecture from someone who's been alive for merely a few seconds compared to me. Hajime Saito, your thoughts, opinions, goals, and history don't matter from this moment forward; you will not live to see anything fall into place. You will die here, by my hand. You will disintegrate into nothing; your footsteps in every realm will be wiped out like a wave washing over sand. Your disgusting existence will have meant nothing,"

I raised up Hyourinmaru and pointed at Hajime.

"Prepare yourself, Hajime,"

"Hyourinmaru!" I shouted.

I summoned three fairly large ice dragons and sent them at Hajime.

I followed suit behind them, and flashed my way through them toward Hajime.

His mouth cracked open; a horrific, high-pitched, monstrous roar piercing my ears as it did.

A sliver light shined from the back of his throat; no doubt a Cero. He launched it in a constant beam rather than in a spherical shape, and began to completely extinguish all of my dragons. I quickly got out of the way and summoned more to attack him.

"Shakkaho!" I shouted, throwing several of the energy spheres at him.

He took all the Shakkaho blasts directly—clearly more focused on taking out all the ice dragons with his never-ending Cero.

As I approached him, he stopped his Cero and flashed in front of me—cutting my flash-step and completely stopping me in my tracks. He slashed at me with his claws, and I blocked his attacks with Hyourinmaru. Now I understood why he said he liked fighting with his claws more—it made sense now.

I slashed an ice wave at him, and as he tried to block it again, I flashed behind him and finally landed a slash across his back. He whipped his tail and slapped me out of the way. As I flew, he appeared behind me before I could stop myself and kicked me down toward the ground.

I flapped my enormous ice wings and successfully stopped myself mid-fall.

Head on attacks at this rate had low chance of working without the right preparation. I'd have to mix in some kido in order to really be successful with taking him down. The flowers on my bankai were dwindling quickly. I was already down to 3/4th of 1 flower; it was just about enough to use Hyouten Hyakkasou, but I'd have to really ware him down in order for that technique to work.

If I hadn't have given it all that effort with Harribel, this would have been fairly less difficult. I'm running out of reiatsu, and Hajime's just getting started.

I could sense him coming; I had to think quickly. I turned around and aimed my hands at him.

"Bakudo #61: Rikujakoro!" I shouted.

The Bakudo hit him dead center; the six lightening rods piercing through his torso. He gasped from the contact, and before more than a few seconds could pass, I continued.

"Hado #77: Seisen Batsu!" I followed.

Since Hajime was in the air, the Hado's water encircled him, and as it spouted upward, it created a spherical shape. The water swiveled around him momentarily before crashing in on him.

"Hado #4: Byakurai!"

I pointed at him with two fingers and shot the lightening at him. The electricity mixed with the water ensured that he would at least take in some damage, but I was almost certain that he wouldn't be taken down by it.

I heard him shriek, and saw the spiraling water start to falter; it was time for my next move.

"Hyourinmaru!"

I pointed Hyourinmaru at him, and froze the water Hajime was in. Upon freezing, the waters current stopped, now a completely symmetrical sphere of ice. It floated mid-air momentarily before descending rapidly downward.

I followed it as it descended toward the ground, stopping about a kilometer above it so that when it shattered I wouldn't be hit.

It finally landed; a loud, crisp, cracking sound as it shattered almost as easily as glass. Hajime—still binded by the Rikujakoro—rolled over to get the ice off him. Once he did, he forcefully broke through the Bakudo, and propped himself up.

He definitely took injury, but still not as much as I would've liked. He was scuffed everywhere, and in certain parts had Litchenburg markings from the Byakurai making direct contact. He shook himself much like a dog getting water off its pelt, and looked up at me.

"Is that all you've got?" He asked.

He smirked and vanished.

He appeared in front of me, and as I attempted to flash-stepped away, I couldn't.

"Exploit all weaklings," He chuckled, waving one of his claws.

I tried to move, but all control of my body from the neck down was lost. I couldn't move a finger.

I grit my teeth and glared at him.

"What have you done, Hajime?" I snarled.

"You know, now that I think about it; I watched you dance at Prom with that stupid meat sack of mine. You were terrible! Your dancing didn't quite meet my expectations at all, Hitsugaya. So here, let me show you how to dance properly,"

"What are—"

My sentence was cut off by my arms moving without my permission.

I looked at them in shock, and looked back to see Hajime's claws pointed at me.

"Now, dance," He said as he twirled his claws.

My body moved with his command; my legs and feet moving in complete synchrony. He had my legs move rhythmically, while my upper body swayed with the non-existent music in the background.

"See? These are basic steps," Hajime said, not letting up on the control.

I frantically tried to think of a way out of his control as he moved me. With all the blood surging through my own body; was there even a way that I _could_ get out of this?

"And now for the more, _intricate_ steps," He chuckled.

Immediately, I was hurled down to the ground faster than normal gravity would take me.

Several of my ribs punctured my lungs upon their fracture, and I gasped harshly for air as I choked on my own blood.

"See? Now isn't this fun?" Hajime shouted through his animalistic cackling.

He forced me up into the air, and slammed me down face first back into the ground. Blood seeped through my nostrils and I could barely breathe. He keep repeatedly slamming me against the broken concrete pavement beneath me. Each time he lifted me up higher; causing more damage with each plummet.

I had to think of something, but with the immense pain that resulted from each landing, I was at a blank.

Finally, after over 10 times of slamming me against the ground, I stopped moving. Hajime finally let me just lay on the concrete; assuming that I was close to death.

In all honesty, I was in terrible shape.

My body was fractured in more than one place and I could hardly breathe. I could continue with the fight, but I needed at least a few minutes to bring myself back up. I had to figure out how to breathe rhythmically and to not damage myself further. Two minutes was all I needed.

Was Hajime going to grant me that? Of course not; no enemy ever would.

Hajime cackled away in the air almost the entire time; he was loving every second of pain he inflicted on me. When he finally let me stay on the concrete, he slowly floated down toward me while trying to contain his laughter.

"Well, that sure was the performance, Hitsugaya! I just wish you would've screamed a bit more, but hey, you're a disappointment whichever way you look at it." He snickered.

He landed not too far away from me, and casually began to walk toward me.

"So tell me, Hitsugaya; what was all that talk about you making me pay?" He asked.

He stopped next to me on my right, facing me. His tail swayed back and forth slowly, as if he were a cat about to pounce.

He used his foot to flip me over harshly, and I couldn't help but cough and gasp for air.

He chuckled and looked me dead in the eye; those silver eyes of his laced with joy and pride.

"It's like I told you, Hitsugaya,"

He flipped his palm upward, a silver glow visibly forming.

"You will never leave a trace; your existence meant nothing,"

The silver sphere floated above his palm now, fully formed.

"But I'll tell you what,"

He outstretched his palm with the Cero at me, ready to launch it.

I had to move, and I had to do it now; there was no ti—

"It was definitely fun while it lasted," He chuckled.

As the sphere brightened, a sudden outburst shocked the both of us.

Hajime's hand was kicked upward upon releasing the Cero.

The Cero launched straight past me as Hajime and I both stared wide-eyed at my savior.

"Revert the Soul to darkness, Yoru no Shedo,"


	50. Chapter 50

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I couldn't believe what I was witnessing.

Azumi stood there, in front of Hajime and myself with Yoru no Shedo's mask on.

Everything rapidly faded away to darkness; she not only deflected Hajime's attack, but skillfully implemented an attack…could it be that…

"Azumi!" I shouted.

I felt Hajime move back; the result of a push at the very least. He laughed amidst the sound of metal striking his armor.

"Oh? What's this, Eve? You dare lay a hand on your master?" He shouted.

Hajime roared and I could feel immense reiatsu gathering from him.

Suddenly, two hands picked me up by my torso. They struggled for a moment because of my broken ice wings, but quickly scooped me into their arms.

Before I could say anything, the person holding me flash-stepped away from the area.

Within seconds, the light of day enveloped me in its rays, and I was able to see again. I blinked from the brightness and looked up at the female holding me.

"A-Azumi," I stammered.

I was completely shocked to see her.

In the mere 10 seconds she's been here, I could already tell that this wasn't the broken, fragile girl I'd left behind with Inoue; her body language alone proved that much. The fact she was able to also effectively execute a maneuver like she just had...could it be that...

She didn't say anything in response to my call; just kept her pace up until we finally landed on the ground. I looked back quickly to see a giant black dome where the two of us were—no doubt her attack's radius. She set me down against a boulder—sitting me up against it—and it was then I realized I had control of my body back.

"Azumi...is it really you?"

I reached up toward her—the movement slow and struggled from my injuries; she met my reach, and gently grasped my wandering hand.

"Toushirou," she began, looking down at my hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. This is my fight; I'm sorry that you're this badly injured."

She looked up at my face with her completely black eyes and gently cupped my cheek with her hand.

"Toushirou, thank you so much for coming to rescue me; if it wasn't for you and the others, I don't know what other horrible things would have happened."

She gently rubbed my cheek before taking back her hand.

"I have to go; please hold out until I finish this fight."

She got up and turned on her heel.

I grabbed the hem of her bloodstained dress before she walked away.

I had so much that I needed to say to her.

"Azumi; wait, you can't—"

She turned her head to look at me before fully turning around toward me again.

I could've sworn I heard a giggle, but it was so faint that I couldn't be sure.

"Hey Toushirou; promise me something,"

She kneeled down in front of me and stared me straight at eye level. With her almost loose demeanor, I felt as if her mouth under her mask was turned up with a small, light smile.

"When we get out of this, promise me we'll celebrate Halloween together this year as our reward; I'll be a ninja, and you'll be Wolfman Hitsugaya. Promise?"

It was then and there that an immense wave of relief and happiness took over.

My Azumi was back.

She remembered everything down to the last detail; all the feelings we've shared, all the moments we've had.

I couldn't help but let a small smile curve my lips upward.

"I promise; I'd do anything for you, Azumi,"

She held out her pinky in front of me; I took it with my own, and we shook on it.

She started moving slightly, and I knew she was going to make a break for it.

"Azumi, you can't go through with this; I don't want you to—"

"Shhhh," She giggled, holding up a single finger against the mouth area of her mask.

Quicker than I could do anything about, she released my pinky and flash-stepped back toward the battle.

Beside the fact that Azumi just rushed off into a battle that could result tragically, the fact that she remembered everything almost brought me to tears.

The painful emotions I'd suffered this whole time were completely gone; the dominant emotions that remained were happiness and relief. I let them wash over me for the moment; soaking up the feeling that when all this is said and done with, Azumi and I could just go home.

There would be a battle for her case, but with Aizen gone, it would almost be irrelevant. The days of peace and freedom were just around the corner, and I planned on spending every second that I could, enjoying them with her.

An explosion broke my train of thought. I stared back at the dome of darkness Azumi created, and all of my joy I'd let overwhelm me quickly dissipated.

I had to pull myself together, quickly.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

If only I had more time with Toushirou.

All I wanted was to throw myself in his arms, close my eyes, and breathe.

I wanted to breathe in his calming scent, listen to his deep heart beat, feel his warmth against me, and feel his strong arms around me. I wanted that peace—the peace that I couldn't have with anyone else. He calmed my troubled soul, and made me feel like I was his most precious possession. The 6 days that have passed, and all the horror I experienced, could only be kept at bay by him. With everything I've endured, I honestly don't believe that I could possibly live with myself alone. If I hadn't have regained my memories, I might've been able to pull myself together enough to raise the being growing inside me well, but with all of my memories returned, if I were alone, I would mentally go insane, and my child would suffer.

With Toushirou by my side—helping me cope with everything that's happened—my child and I would have a shot at a decent, well-balanced life. I already know he would support me as much as I would support him. With him by my side, I could accomplish anything.

I just wish that I would've gotten here sooner.

He was so injured that I couldn't help but cry under my mask when I saw him. Luckily with it on, no one could tell that I let myself slip emotionally in a serious situation. I pulled it together enough to get the jump on Hajime so I could get Toushirou to safety. I sensed Unohana somewhere close by; hopefully she'd find him and help.

He was safe for now, but not for long.

As I entered my 10 km radius of darkness, I sensed Hajime right in the middle of my playing field.

Just what was he doing?

I flashed over to his location, and examined him for a moment.

His hollowfication was so much different than mine. He looked like a monster out of a child's storybook; something to give someone nightmares. Something seemed very familiar to me about it however; I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Regardless, I had to assume that in this form he was much stronger than he was at Las Noches. From what I could remember—which at this point any memory I had simply amazed me—he is able to manipulate blood. But the real question was, just how far could he go with it?

I had at least three moves with Yoru no Shedo; what was it that his Doll could do? Where even was his Doll? I didn't see it, or even sense it—was his Doll the one that manipulated the blood?

Suddenly, Hajime raised his palm in my direction.

His silver Cero formed in his hand, and he instantly launched it at me.

I quickly flashed out of the way, lucky enough to miss the blast just in time. It exploded off in the distance; no doubt destroying every life form it came into contact with.

"You think you're smart, Eve? You can't win with a weak defensive maneuver like this one. I can sense where you are—you can't hide from me!" He shouted, pointing his palm directly at me again.

He launched another Cero, and I dodged it to come in for an attack. I flipped my tonfa outward, and side-slashed at him as hard as I could. He blocked my attack, and came back at me with his claws.

Saying he was fast was an understatement.

Hajime retaliated at me with such a speed that it was almost as if he pressed the 'NOS' button. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't fast enough to keep up with all the blows. I blocked some of them, but a few times he got in some pretty deep gashes along my arms and shoulders.

I pushed myself back, and flash-stepped out of his striking range to take a moment to assess what to do next. I already had a solid plan, but executing it at the right time was the part I couldn't wrap my head around. And there was _that_ as well. As much as this bastard didn't deserve it, I had to at least try.

I took my mask off and positioned it to sit on the corner of my forehead. The black space around us quickly dissipated, and Hajime opened his monstrous-looking eyes. He looked directly at me, and turned his body to face me.

"It's about time, Eve; your childish behavior was getting annoying. Now, come here _this instant._ " Hajime ordered, pointing one of his claws down at the ground in front of him.

Did he just talk to me like I was freaking five?

I chose to swallow my pride on that one.

"Hajime, please I need you to—"

"That's _Hajime-Sama_ to you, Eve," He cut me off.

That's it. I couldn't do it.

"How about I call you _Asshole_? That's sounding like a better name for you! Stop being a fucking prick and listen to me!" I shouted at him.

He chuckled.

"You dare call your Master by that name? It seems to me like you need to be shown your place once again, Eve,"

"You're not my Master and you never will be. My name is Azumi; I'm not your Eve, you sadistic psychopath!" I shouted at him.

"Oh?" he took a step forward.

"Azumi huh? Did that Shinigami—the one Aizen-Sama and myself _specifically_ told you not to associate with—call you that name?" Hajime asked.

I could tell he was getting angry at my snappy tone, but I couldn't have cared less about offending a piece of shit like him.

"I have my memories back. I remember everything about you; you sick, twisted, fuck. Listen, I despise you—I want nothing more than to hear you screech in pain and suffering by my hand, but something needs to be addressed here and now." I began.

Hajime chuckled and casually placed a hand on his hip, as if he was giving half-willed attention to a five year old to make their day. It pissed me off, but I continued.

"Hajime, you unfortunately are my only blood family. I'm giving you this one chance—here and now—to change your ways and give up following Aizen. I'm giving you an opportunity at redemption for all the things you've done to others, _and_ to me. I'll help you escape this place with your life. I'll tell everyone you've died in this battle so you can live out your life in the World of the Living as a new person. You could be happy and live your life carefree without anyone out to get you."

"I'm offering you this solely because you are my brother. However, with this offer, I never want to see you again. You will not see this child growing inside me, you will not communicate with me, or go looking for me or anyone I'm associated with. You and I will part ways here for the rest of eternity. After what you did to me, and the things I've had to endure, this is the price you will pay—a life of loneliness and solitude. If anything, you should be grateful I'm even offering. Had you not have been a blood sibling, I would've already ripped your dick off, shoved it down your throat, and blasted you to kingdom come. Do you understand?" I snarled.

He belly laughed.

He literally hunched over in that demonic form of his and cackled like I'd never seen before.

To say that it pissed me off was such a _huge_ understatement. His laughter at my seriousness had my blood boiling; I felt like a volcano ready to just erupt and destroy with a fiery vengeance anything that came my way. Honestly, it was probably not just because of his laughter; it was anger for absolutely everything from Day 1. Meeting him, being completely deceived by him, _tortured and raped_ by him—I never had the chance to even express my emotions on it. My brain was wiped clean; I couldn't comprehend what was going on. All I knew was that I was made to be tortured and used—I didn't matter at all. I couldn't express any emotion more than fear—which _now_ made me furious.

Hajime began to clap.

His belly laughing started to die down into chortles until he came back up to a standing position.

"I expected you to be naïve with the loss of your memory, but now that you have them back, you're _still_ this naïve? It's absolutely and indisputably, hysterical. You _honestly_ think that I would take you up on your offer? That I would suddenly have a change of heart and completely change my ways? That I would give up _my throne_ because you think it's the 'right thing to do?' You talk as if you are stronger than I am; like you could really make the difference here in this decisive battle between us and the Soul Society; as if you've had so much battle experience before this. Well let me fill you in on something, _sister,_ " Hajime paused as he took a few steps toward me.

"You are but one thing—my own personal incubator. You were born to be my incubator, and when the time comes, you will die as my incubator. Other than the purpose you've been given, you are absolutely nothing. You are no match for me, or anyone for that matter; your efforts will prove to be futile. I thought that maybe with your new slate, I could mold you into my preferred state of mind, but unfortunately you were able to take back your memories before I could completely take control over you. But I'll tell you what; when we get back to Las Noches, I'll be sure to have them drill another hole through your skull. That way we can wipe the slate clean, and you can be my good little Eve again. However, before any of that can happen,"

Hajime suddenly appeared in front of me faster than I could even blink.

His tail extended behind me; trapping me in like a rat.

"We'll need to punish you for your horrid behavior,"

" _Shit!"_

As quickly as I could manage, I pulled down Yoru's mask.

I jumped over the base of his tail—that was to my left—quickly as he tried to side swipe me with his left hook. If I hadn't have put on my mask, he would've landed the hit, and I would've been eating blood and concrete.

Quickly, I ditched Yoru's mask for Imuza's, and launched Imuza's purple Cero at him. He dodged the blast—weaving to his left—and came at me with a grab. I ducked and swiped with my tonfa at his legs; to which he smacked me with his tail before I could even connect.

I tumbled and rolled painfully on the ground, trying hard to not cut myself with my own tonfa. Hajime flashed over and stopped my rolling with a kick to my upper back; I flipped over and coughed from the shot to the ribcage. It felt like something sharp stabbed me; was that what a broken rib was? I kept gasping for air as Hajime casually walked over to me.

"Up." He said.

Suddenly, all control of my body was lost.

I didn't command any part of myself to move, yet I got up and somehow lifted myself up in the air.

"W-What the Hell is this?" I stammered.

I looked down at Hajime—who was standing there, staring back at me nonchalantly.

"Is this the work of your Doll?" I asked.

"It used to be, but not anymore however," Hajime replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked irritably.

"Exactly how it sounds; it used to be his power, and now it solely belongs to me." He answered.

My arms spread out like Jesus up on the cross, and I already knew that if I didn't keep him preoccupied, he might just rip off one of my arms—that was a pain I never wanted to endure ever again.

"How can you steal a power from a Doll? Where is your Doll anyway?" I asked.

"My, my, aren't you full of questions," He smirked.

He knew I was stalling—that much was apparent.

He chuckled, and suddenly my left arm swung to my back and twisted upward.

I sharply inhaled in response, to which he chuckled again.

"I consumed my Doll long ago; we are one and the same now rather than two separate entities." He said as if it wasn't a big deal or anything.

"It was rather annoying having a separate entity to constantly deal with, so I consumed him and inherited the power that was rightfully mine—it's as simple as that." He explained.

The thought of consuming Yoru no Shedo went through my head. I couldn't imagine doing something like that to her; although she followed my orders, she was still my friend. We had a bit of a rough start, but overall, I felt that over time we've bonded just a little. It's been around a month that I've known her, but even so, I still cared for her in a special way. I wouldn't ever want to see any harm come to her.

"I can't say I'm surprised; with the cut-throat environment you grew up in, it's safe to say something like taking another's life is child's play." I responded.

"Cut-throat? Honestly, the mindset of the Shinigami and humans are completely distorted. To think that you believe one's own perseverance should be treated in contempt is something that in itself is disdainful. The way I see it, the form of affection and consideration toward others that you people display is weak. All of you are weaklings—weaklings made to solely be consumed by the strong. I didn't get to where I am today by being a pushover; I worked my way by taking down anyone in my path. Just how I'm going to take down all of the Shinigami, and all of the fools in Hueco Mundo eventually as well." Hajime explained with a thick hateful tone in his voice.

"Destroy the fools in Hueco Mundo?" I repeated.

"Last time I checked, _you_ were Aizen's dog; what the Hell do you mean you plan on taking them down? If that were true, then why the Hell did you follow along with Aizen's plan to rape me for an army?" I shouted furiously.

My head suddenly cocked harshly to the side; my ear attempting to crash into my shoulder. My neck felt stiff and fragile, as if it were close to snapping.

"I'd watch my tone if I were you," Hajime responded venomously.

"Lest you forget who you're talking to; maggot." He continued.

"Who said that I was simply, 'following along?' You think that I'm that much of a simpleton that I would let someone else rule me? If you were anyone else, I'd snap your neck right now for your insolence. I impregnated you for my own personal gain; our offspring that's speedily developing inside you is going to signal the beginning of my dominion upon his birth. When he's born, I'll finally—after all these years—have the purest sample aside from you to work with. Once I have my army, taking Hueco Mundo, the Soul Society, and the World of the Living will be as simple as taking candy from a baby. As of now, all I have to do is simply bide my time, and let others do my bidding for me." Hajime explained.

"And so if that's your true goal, then answer me this: why would a person as 'prideful' as you let others do your bidding? Why wouldn't you establish your dominance now, and take Aizen down _now?_ You talk and act like you have such an 'air' about yourself; if you're as powerful as you're making yourself out to be, then why not do it now and prove to everyone just how _valiant_ and _magnificent_ you claim to be? Wouldn't you want to prove to everyone just how great of a ruler you would be?" I countered.

I heard him chuckle as he rose up toward me.

I was floating up about 1 km above him, it wouldn't take him to long to get up to me.

"Let me fill you in on something," Hajime began.

"I don't plan on ruling anything with a _loving_ or _compassionate_ attitude. I don't care if my subjects like me or not; in fact, I couldn't care less if any of them died. An extermination of Soul Society is the first thing I plan on doing. Elimination of any and all threats is the first thing any ruler should undergo. All rulers in the past that have just 'left others in peace' are fools. All of them eventually met their end by not making sure that all threats were exterminated. With that being said, I want all inhabitants to fear me along with my army. I don't plan on simply 'taking over to make the worlds better' as everyone seems to think. I plan on changing the worlds to how they really should be: survival of the fittest. If you're strong you live—if you're weak you die." He continued.

I tried moving, but to no avail. I had no choice but to try out a risky move.

"Gaze into the Soul," I quickly whispered.

I twirled my head around to conceal the change as I felt my mask shape on my face; a light sizzle type of feeling began at my forehead and gravitated downward. My vision changed, and I knew I had Yoru's mask on officially.

Hajime was almost at level with me as he continued in his speech.

"Speaking of weak—let's talk about you for a moment," He said before coming to a halt at my level.

"Petrify the soul," I whispered lowly so he couldn't hear.

I stared directly into his eyes, and waited for him to return my gaze before counting—hopefully this would work.

"Takashita Azumi; you're existence is merely for the one purpose I've said over and over again. Beside your purpose, you are an otherwise weak, unintelligent worm. You may have learned some cheap parlor tricks, but you are nowhere even close to being strong."

He looked me directly in my eyes as he began his last few sentences. I frantically tried to keep my calm.

" _One..."_

"Once you've fulfilled your purpose, you will be disposed of."

" _Two..."_

"If the thoughts of you somehow making it out alive or being spared due to your purpose crossed your mind—throw those thoughts away."

" _Three..."_

"You will not ever rule with me as a sibling, or even as a 'Queen' let's get that straight right now," He continued.

Suddenly, he traced the side of my mask with one of his claws, dragging the sharp point down until it was under my chin.

"However, until that purpose is fulfilled,"

" _Four.."_

"I'm going to enjoy every single moment of torment, every single scream, and every single time you cry from how much it hurts…"

I could tell he was grinning under his mask as he leaned forward to meet my face, mere inches away.

"And I can't wait to fully unleash the wrath of 17 years of patience; last time was nothing compared to the fun were going to have," He whispered.

He literally made bile rise to my base of my throat with that last sentence. This sick, twisted bastard didn't deserve to be spared; he deserved to die a painful, excruciatingly violent death.

The chance he was given was officially revoked.

He was already dead to me.

"Five!" I shouted aloud.


	51. Chapter 51

**Takashita Azumi**

"Let's get something straight, you _worthless piece of shit,_ "

The petrified demon stared me down with a murderous glaze coating his eyes. As his breathing became labored, his reiatsu flared in an attempt to break my attack. The hold he had over my body weakened as his reiatsu spiked, granting me just enough leeway to begin moving my upper body.

"You will _never_ touch me _ever_ again; you will never take _advantage_ of me, and I will _never_ be apart of your plan. I gave you one chance to redeem yourself for your disgusting, heinous ways, but you chose your own destruction. I will show you no mercy; just as you have shown me." I told him.

I could hear his Hierro beginning to crack at the pressure.

I could hardly see his chest rise and fall with his breathing.

"Die, Hajime,"

I opened my mouth and conjured my reiatsu to form in a spherical shape. The energy radiated such an immense heat that I could feel it even with Yoru's mask on. I quickly gathered it for a full-scale attack. With any luck, it would obliterate him.

Once the sphere roughly became the size of a cantaloupe, I launched it point-blank at Hajime.

It was a direct hit.

It engulfed his entire body; the aroma of burning flesh immediately smacked my heightened sense of smell as he flew back with the blast. The blast must've actually broke through his Hierro—a feat difficult for anyone to do. Hopefully it was enough to at least severely weaken him.

" _Thanks, Yoru!"_

I could feel my body loosen, and I quickly stabilized myself so I wouldn't fall from the height.

As Hajime crashed, I made an effort to regain control of my limbs. I shook myself violently, and pumped out a quick wave of reiatsu to help break through his control. As soon as Hajime hit the ground, I had full control back over my body.

I didn't want to take any chances; I flash-stepped to him immediately.

"Yoru! Come out!" I ordered.

On cue, her mask disappeared off my face and she materialized next to me.

"Now!" I shouted.

She got the memo without me having to say anything.

I raised my palm up and she screeched loudly next to me—both of us forming another Cero.

As the smoke settled, I heard a cough from Hajime, and I took that as a signal to launch.

As soon as I released my Cero, Yoru released hers; the purple Cero closely following behind my red one. They both crashed into Hajime, causing a backdraft at Yoru and I.

We both took to the sky to evade the after effects and to get in a better visual.

"Can you see anything?" I asked her.

"Not yet, Master," Yoru replied.

As we waited for the smoke to clear, I took a quick moment to look around.

There was so much heavy reiatsu in the area it was unreal. I could sense Aizen fighting with someone; was it Kurosaki? I couldn't tell from here, but I definitely knew it was Aizen. His reiatsu was obnoxiously suffocating; it seemed as if he was doing it on purpose to prove a point—that prick. I swear, when I see him again…

I couldn't sense Rangiku anywhere—was she okay? Unohana and Orihime were in the area along with some Squad 4 members; hopefully they found her by now if anything.

I was having a hard time sensing Toushirou as well; I could feel him nearby, but I couldn't get a clear reading on him. He was pretty bad the last time I saw him; did he get worse? Has he been attacked? Surely I'd be able to tell if he was fighting right now; wouldn't I?

"You call that a Cero?" Hajime shouted furiously.

My head snapped down to him.

Hajime roared and spat a ferociously powerful Cero at the two of us.

"Master!" Yoru shouted.

She quickly flew in front of me and screeched demonically—launching a Cero just in time to counter Hajime's beamed silver Cero. The two beams coming into contact emitted a very strained, crackling noise that reverberated in my chest from the sheer force of the two energy blasts.

Hajime had the upper hand in his Cero; Yoru's receded back toward her quickly, but she kept up as best she could. If I didn't act fast, he'd blow her to pieces.

I quickly flash-stepped down to Hajime and held my palm up directly at him.

He didn't break the contact with Yoru, or even turn his head; he fixed his eye on me, and stuck his palm back at me. He gathered his Cero much quicker than I'd expected, and so I faked him out. I used momentum to barrel roll forward and evade his Cero. As I landed low to the ground, Hajime's legs were within reach, so I took the opportunity to kick his legs out from under him.

His Cero was knocked off its aim at Yoru and with the diversion, Yoru continued her Cero forward and directly hit Hajime within a matter of milliseconds.

I side-rolled out of the way as Yoru finished her Cero. Since I was now down on the ground, it was easier for me to see exactly what Hajime was doing. I didn't need to have to wait for the smoke to clear, I just had to wait for the attack to stop. Hajime had been blasted back against the concrete; rubble covering most of his body and all of his face. He must've been injured at least a fair amount with all the Cero blasts, but I still felt completely unsettled.

There was an eerie silence after Yoru's Cero ended; as if we were in some type of horror movie and it was at a scare-jump part.

As much as I wished it would end right here, I already knew in the pit of my gut that it wasn't over. Hajime had to be alive; for all the big talk, there's no way in Hell that he would go down this smoothly.

Was he trying to gage my powers and abilities? Was he trying to stall?

I heard movement within the rubble, and suddenly a sharp pain shot through my stomach. I hunched over and wrapped my arms around myself; a cold sweat took over my body along with violent shaking.

My stomach felt like it was stretching; like two people were playing an extreme game of tug-of-war with all of my organs. It hurt so tremendously that stars immediately shot through my vision. I slouched forward even more, a sudden bloody coughing fit completely draining me.

Looking down at my own blood not only made me hungry—as disturbing as that is—but made me want to hurl even more. If it wasn't for my newfound control, I probably would've already—

Hajime suddenly burst through the rubble, sending the huge pieces of concrete flying in all directions. He roared and turned over to me—I was still smack in the middle of my coughing fit.

"Y-Yo..ru!" I shouted in between coughs.

She suddenly dive-bombed Hajime in her spiral attack.

I had wanted her to return to me so I could put her on as my mask, but she already saw through that idea and decided otherwise. She decided to stall as I finished up—the better call in the long run.

She shot at him in several different directions; her speed seemingly unmatched by him. They both took to the sky; a more suitable place for dodging, yet also more suitable for attacking. Yoru's size was a plus compared to Hajime; she was a more difficult target to hit compared to myself.

Although that thought was comforting, Hajime wasn't someone to be taken lightly. It wouldn't be long until he figured out Yoru's tactics, and when that happens, she could get seriously hurt—I had to hurry.

As a Cero from Yoru launched over my head, I coughed up more blood. As I panted, I noticed through the pain in my abdomen a light pulsation. It was unrelated to the stretching and blinding pain I was experiencing; it was almost as if now I could…

I looked down at my stomach.

A small, protruding point appeared from under my skin; just under my ribcage. It slid down slowly toward my bellybutton before receding back inside me.

I screamed bloody murder.

Yes, I knew that I had a baby growing inside me, but the action in itself was completely terrifying.

It had only been a _couple days_ ; the entire situation was still hardly comprehensible in my mind, yet the baby was already big enough to make a noticeable movement? My stomach didn't protrude too much; maybe a few inches _tops._ Was the baby growing upward in between my other organs?

I didn't have to time think it through; I had to get over it and focus back on Hajime.

I took a deep breath, exhaled, and took another.

I felt like I was going to pass out.

As much as I didn't want it, I needed some serious medical attention for what was happening inside me. The real question was: would I be able to hold out long enough?

' _If you'd woman the fuck up and get going already, this would've already been over with!'_ Imuza grunted in my head.

"Give it a rest," I sighed aloud.

I took another breath, and then used the hand motion to summon up Imuza's mask.

' _About damn time!'_ Imuza commented in my head.

I took off toward the battle; Imuza's speed dramatically boosting me toward them.

" _You know as well as I do that this isn't going to be that easy,"_ I commented to Imuza.

' _And you know as well as I do, that if you would just let me take over, our victory would be assured!'_ Imuza snapped right back.

I decided to ignore her and try to focus so I could think my way through this.

Hajime had to be holding out; there was no way in Hell that this was everything he had. If I could just weaken him enough, then my attack would— _without a doubt_ —work. I just had to really pay attention and judge when the best time to use it would be. On top of that, the fact that I haven't actually used it before scared me.

What if I didn't do it right?

What if I lost control and…

' _And I took the reigns? Then we'd win; it's not rocket science.'_ Imuza interrupted my thoughts.

" _Shut up."_ I responded back.

Imuza chuckled and before she could respond, I arrived at the scene.

Yoru was getting worn down—that was for sure. Hajime didn't look too fazed; he moreover seemed like he was trying to swat a fly.

I saw an opportunity and jumped right in.

I side swiped him with my left tonfa, to which he dodged last second by side-stepping out of the way. I hopped back and spiraled in with both tonfa tucked appropriately, and aimed right for him. He held up his arms defensively, and blocked the attack.

I stopped myself by grabbing onto his arms and hoisting myself above him. I drop kicked him right in the skull, and he flew down toward the ground. I followed up with Imuza's purple Cero and shot out about 3 of them after him.

The 3 Cero took no time at all to close the gap to him; one after the other they exploded and smoked up the area again.

Yoru and I both dived down toward him, each of us on either side of the smoke. Once we both hit the ground, we both noticed that Hajime disappeared.

I quickly spun around behind me; nothing.

" _Where the Hell did he—?"_

From under the rubble beneath me, several blood spikes shot up toward me. One completely shot through my foot and another scraped my side.

I quickly flashed out of the way, wincing and trying not to scream from the pain in my right foot. With an injury like this, I couldn't fight on the ground; I had to take this back up to the air.

"You shouldn't drop your guard so easily,"

I gasped as Hajime appeared behind me and stabbed me through my right shoulder.

I shrieked and gasped, staring at the slender sword that went through my right shoulder.

"Eve, you've been a very bad girl; you will suffer serious consequence when we get back to Las Noches." Hajime said behind me.

I hollowfied my right hand and used it to grabbed the sword sticking out of me. I wrapped my left arm around my torso, pointing my fingers underneath my right arm behind me at him.

"Didn't I already tell you? I'm not going back,"

Hajime tried to pull the sword, but I held it as tightly as I could.

"And more importantly,"

I formed a Cero at my fingertips.

" _I'm not your fucking Eve_ , damn it!" I shouted.

I released the Cero at him; only letting go of the sword wedged in my shoulder when I knew that the Cero was about to hit.

Hajime was smart; he abandoned his sword and hi-tailed it out of point-blank range. The fact that he could still fight with his hands is really what sealed the deal; the entire time he didn't have a weapon—it was only now that he began to use it. He was barely grazed by the attack, and because of this, Yoru took advantage and came in for another charge at him.

As I grit my teeth and pushed the sword back out of me, I shrieked and screeched like a little girl; the slicing pain of the sword causing my vision to waver.

' _Woman up! You don't have time for this!'_ Imuza spat at me.

"I know, damn it!" I angrily spat back aloud.

First my foot, now my dominant arm—this was going to be fun.

I bent down quickly and grabbed his stupid sword. I threw it as far as I could away from him, and flashed back to him and Yoru.

My baseball pitcher throw was useless; the damn sword materialized in his hand even though I threw it away from him.

"You piece of—"

I was cut off by Hajime roaring and slamming his sword down at me.

I blocked with my tonfa, sudden adrenaline rushing through me at his attack. The pain ailing me everywhere seemed to disappear; my body felt as if it turned into pure fluid, and I knew that now was probably the best time to get some hits in.

Hajime was much stronger than he was letting on—that much was for sure, but it was clear to me that he wasn't going to go that far with me just yet. He felt as if he couldn't; while he was still playing coy and following along with Aizen's orders, all he could really do was evade me and inflict minor damage. Hajime couldn't kill me at the moment; he could only cause harm in areas unrelated to the fetus—which meant I had an advantage. If I could get in enough hits to weaken him, I could seal his fate here and now—I couldn't afford to lose this battle.

I tuck and rolled out from the attack, and crashed into his legs.

As he stumbled forward, I rolled in between his legs and dodged his tail; getting up immediately to push kick him forward. As he flew forward, I ran after him and jumped up for a drop-kick. He quickly rolled around and shot a Cero up at me, mid-air.

I forced the kick forward so that I could forward-roll myself out of the motion, and when I came back up from the roll, the Cero was about to hit. I quickly sucked the Cero in, and spat it back out at Hajime with one of my own behind it. Hajime barrel-rolled out of the way, and I was on him like white on rice.

I plummeted down toward him with my spiral attack, going as fast as I possibly could with my injuries. He evaded my attack, and jumped out of the way. The area he jumped to was immediately met by a Cero from Yoru.

He threw up his guard, and took the energy blast head on using his monstrous strength to hold it back. While I was in awe watching the scene, I snapped myself out of it for the golden opportunity Yoru bestowed upon me.

I shot a barrage of Cero blasts from multiple sides; Yoru joining in on the attack. She shot him from the sky, and I shot at him from the ground; both of us flashing into different spots to hit him at all angles.

Suddenly, amidst all our attacks, I felt something weird around my wounds. I quickly looked down to see the blood from my wounds lifting up into the air—as if it was being drawn elsewhere. As concerned as I was, I stopped looking at it and focused on the battle in front of me.

I decided to launch one last Cero and go in for a frontal, head-on attack. Yoru read my mind and also went in for an attack from behind. I flashed stepped up to him—through the smoke—and hit a wall face-first. I jumped back, and upon viewing what I hit almost drooled.

Hajime created a dome of blood around himself to block all of our attacks.

He didn't incur any damage from us whatsoever.

"Damn you, Hajime!" I shouted angrily.

The blood dome suddenly rippled like water before cracking completely in half. The blood from each half molded separately, and before I knew it, two spears were aimed at Yoru and I.

"I'm done playing games with you, Eve, this ends now." Hajime announced with his arms crossed and tail curved around toward his frontal face.

"Yoru!" I shouted.

Right as the two blood spears went into motion, Yoru and I both quickly hi-tailed it outta there. Wherever we moved, the spears followed behind us; clearly showing that Hajime could manipulate two separate liquids at once.

After dodging countless stab attempts, the spears both suddenly froze above us. Yoru and I coincidentally stopped next to each other after evading the two spears. She landed on my shoulder facing behind me; my eyes on Hajime while hers on the two spears above us.

"Now, tell me," Hajime began.

The blood audibly molded above us; I couldn't help but take my eyes off Hajime to look. The blood came together in a thick, murky sphere; rippling and bubbling in the air. The blood sprayed out in large amounts in all directions above us; completely covering the two of us like an umbrella.

"How does it feel being completely surrounded?" He asked.

The lingering pieces of blood all hardened into small marble-like balls with spikes protruding at every angle.

"Demolish the defenseless, Chupacabra," Hajime commanded.

Upon his command, all the miniature spike balls dropped on us like rain. Neither of us were able to dodge; both of us took in a surprising amount of damage.

The spiked blood-marbles were so fast I could barely even see them move; let alone dodge them. The spikes served their purpose and cut the two of us while bruising us internally from the sheer force of the attack. He had such a handle on them that I wouldn't be surprised if these were able to shoot through us like bullets—I wasn't about to stick around and find out.

When the hardened blood hit the ground, it rose up and completely swarmed us like angry bees. The two of us tried to escape, but were unable to shake them off our trail. Wherever the two of us went, they followed, getting faster and faster each passing second.

I tried to keep an eye on Yoru while the two of us got pummeled to kingdom come—she wasn't doing good at all.

She was bleeding from several different areas, and although her speed surpassed my own, she couldn't evade them. As a creature capable of flight, the bones throughout her body were hollow—a genetic trait that allowed said flight. With that being said, those bones could snap far more easily than mine could. Her skin was also thinner than mine; these blood bullets could rip right through her easier than they could to me. On top of that, Hajime wasn't trying to kill _me_ , but that didn't mean he wasn't trying to kill _her._

Yoru screeched and flew sporadically to try and get rid of them, but to no avail. She shot herself in one of her lightening-fast dashes and couldn't make it out. She didn't have enough time to stop and form a Cero, so all she could do was keep flying.

Hajime cackled as he watched the two of us; I'd bet money that it was like watching a comedic performance to a twisted asshole like him.

I was pretty damn beat up myself, and continuing to get thrashed each second. I frantically tried to think of a way out of his attack; I had to get Yoru out of this before it was too late.

If I tried to go toward Hajime, he'd only stop the attack before I even got close enough to him. On top of that, he'd probably send the swarm around me to attack Yoru while he in turn dealt with me. I couldn't do any more Ceros at the moment because then I'd run out of reiatsu before finishing Hajime off.

There had to be another way out of this, but what?

What could I do to turn this around and save Yoru?

Hajime hunched forward and opened his mouth wide as he chuckled. Another Cero began to form as he turned toward Yoru.

Shit.

As much as it physically hurt to stop, I did and pumped out my reiatsu in hopes to get one second without the swarm on me. It worked, and I immediately took the position for my spin attack. I pushed myself off the ground with my injured right foot as hard as I could, and launched myself toward Yoru.

I heard all the blood spikes clanking against me like rain on a tin roof; it was working—they weren't hurting me.

I sped as quickly as I could toward Yoru. I penetrated through the field of them and was able to stop for just a half-second to grab her. I was incredibly dizzy, but had to progress at least to get them off me for a few seconds and to dodge Hajime's Cero.

I jumped upward; Hajime's Cero grazed just under my feet as I jumped, but luckily I was able to evade it.

The blood spikes were hot on my trail, but temporarily not on me yet.

"Yoru, are you going to make it?" I asked in between a pant.

She felt dead in my arms; her small heartbeat was the only thing assuring me that she was still alive.

She was beaten—that much was obviously clear—but I didn't have time to inspect her. All I had time for was to look for a way out of this.

"Yes," She breathed out in the weakest tone I'd ever heard.

She was always on it; bold and stern in her words.

She was hurt bad— _real bad_.

"I'm sorry, Master, I can't continue to fight in this form right now; I will take punishment as you see fit." She said.

"Forget about it; can I still use your other forms?" I asked quickly.

"Yes," She responded.

"Okay, thank you Yoru, please subside for now; you've done well, and I'm proud of you," I said quickly with as much affection as I could muster.

"Yes, Master; thank you,"

Yoru disappeared from my arms, and just as soon as she did was when Hajime appeared in front of me and tail-smacked me back down through his cloud of sharp marbles to the ground below.

I focused my reiatsu in an attempt to break my fall, but still hit the ground with such a force that the rubble around me elevated and I sunk into the pavement. The back of my ribs cracked and the back of my head smashed so hard that my vision immensely blurred. Imuza's mask shattered off my face and I turned my head to cough violently.

Before I could even move the rest of my body, 4 blood spikes shot through each limb socket; pinning me to the ground and preventing all movement.

I screamed.

It hurt so badly; I felt like I was going to pass out.

I laid there, blooded, bruised, and beaten; trying to keep myself conscious now that my adrenaline had left.

"You're making me repeat myself, Eve; I'm done playing these games,"

Hajime floated down; a casual demeanor displayed on him. He acted as if he had already won, like this whole ordeal was a child throwing a temper tantrum and finally being set straight after a spanking. I was so furious, but couldn't do anything about it.

"It's about time I sent you back to Las Noches where you belong; where you will face the consequences of raising a hand to me."

He was almost on top of me; a few feet above me still.

What was I going to do?

I couldn't think; I felt like I couldn't even breathe.

How was I supposed to get out of this?

' _You're such a moron! You've wasted our only opportunity!'_ Imuza yelled at me in my head.

I ignored her and stared through squinted eyes as Hajime descended.

"But I'll tell you what, Eve, I'll be nice and begin your punishment now. I'll start by bringing back the corpse of that arrogant, self-centered, and not to mention completely annoying, Hitsu—"

Hajime was cut off by something most unexpected.

The four spikes within me suddenly shot out of me and directly into him.

He gasped from the surprise of his own attack coming back like that and looked around with a snarl.

"Arrogant, self-centered, and annoying? You took the description I have of you right out of my mouth,"

I rolled my head back as much as I could.

There he was; my winged savior high up in the sky, quickly descending toward the two of us.

"T-Toushirou," I smiled.


	52. Chapter 52

**Takashita Azumi**

"Ryusenka!"

With an enraged ice dragon circling around him, Toushirou dove down straight at Hajime; sword pointed right at him in a stabbing formation. Hajime tried to flash away, but Toushirou was right on him. He crashed into Hajime within seconds; a huge four-petal flower encasing Hajime in the sky above.

"Azumi!"

Toushirou landed by my side and ran to me. Although everything began getting hazy, words could not describe just how happy I was at his arrival. He picked me up immediately and cradled me in his arms, holding me closely and firmly as his hands shook.

"He's going to pay for what he's done to you—I swear it! I am so sorry I didn't get here sooner, Azumi,"

Toushirou's voice trembled with anger and regret—that much was apparent. I could feel just in the way he held me that there were so many more emotions within him that were tearing him down each passing second he looked at me. He was still injured, but the drive of his hatred for Hajime—as well as the entire dangerous situation I was in—kept him going.

I reached up and cradled his face in my palm; doing my best to smile even though I felt like I was on the verge of passing out.

"Please, don't blame yourself, Toushirou; don't let yourself think that everything is your fault, because it isn't. You came for me—that's all that matters; I-I'm so glad that you're here," I grinned and let my tears flow freely.

I was so happy to see my knight in icy armor that I couldn't contain the immense amount of heartfelt emotions that fluttered inside me, so I grinned and cried like a little child for a quick release.

He pulled me close, and planted a quick kiss atop my head. "Words cant describe how happy I am to have you back, Azumi," He said, hugging me tightly.

I wrapped my arm around his neck, taking in the warmth and love I so desperately needed.

"T-Toushirou, I-I—"

The ice flower Hajime was encased in above us audibly cracked.

Toushirou quickly flash-stepped us away from him, and set me down on the ground. It wasn't too far off from Hajime, but it would have to do for now.

"Stay here; you're injured badly and need to rest. I'll finish this and take you back to Inoue's to heal." He said, looking directly into my eyes to make sure I understood.

"Toushirou, I can't let you do that." I replied, trying to pry myself up.

"What do you mean?" He asked without even one second passing.

I took a deep, pained breath and replied. "I'm not going to let you do this, Toushirou. Hajime is my responsi—"

"Absolutely not, Azumi; you're too injured to do anything right now. Beside that, I personally can't let Hajime get away with it; I can't allow him to take another casual breath as if he's done nothing wrong! I can't stand just thinking about all the things he's done to you because of my negligence…and I won't stand here and let him do it again. I'm not letting you go back out there to get hurt and taken from me again!" He snapped back at me.

The determination in his eyes was fierce; a pained tone in his furious voice completely soaked in each word.

But I couldn't let him fight my battles for me.

Hajime was going to be put to death by me, for my pride's sake.

"Toushirou, you don't understand, Hajime is—"

"Is the person responsible for the way you are right now? The person responsible for the fetus growing inside you that is ripping you apart? The person who _tortured_ , _raped_ , and _erased_ your memories? What is it that you think I'm not understanding?"

"He's my _brother_ , Toushirou!" I blurted out.

His eyes widened at the new information I'd just spat out; his fists clenched and he grit his teeth. Before he could say anything, I continued.

"Toushirou, while I respect your wishes, you need to understand mine. I can understand why you want to be the one to take his life, but you have to understand that ultimately, it is _me_ who has suffered the most. I don't want you to fight my battles for me; I want to be the one who solves my own problems. However, I do respect your wishes; I can understand that you want to annihilate Hajime for all the things he's done, so I'll let you beat him to your hearts content. However, unless I'm knocking on death's door, I'm going to be the one to rid the world of him."

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes briefly. I felt faint; my heart felt like it was punching me internally from how beat up I was. Sleep sounded amazing, but I couldn't afford to calmly take it easy.

"And you call this _not_ knocking on death's door?" Toushirou asked in a forced level-tone.

"I'm sorry Azumi, but you are in no condition to continue fighting." He said as he stood up.

"T-Toushirou—"

"While I understand that you feel obligated because he's your _sibling_ , I'm not going to risk losing you to him again. I'm sorry Azumi, but I can't let you have your wish. If you weren't in this shape, I would've considered, but right now it's for the best. Please understand that I'm doing this for you, and understand that I've already let this go too far." He motioned at my appearance.

"B-But, Tou—"

"He's back, I have to go. Please, promise me you'll stay here." He cut me off.

I hated to admit it, but he was right—I seriously was in no condition to keep this up.

My pride was the only thing suffering more than my bodily injuries at this point. As much as I hated it, I'd have to listen to him.

He held out a pinky toward me, not breaking eye contact with me the entire time.

I huffed, and reached up to shake it.

"If you're down, I can't say I won't break this promise—keep that in mind." I said.

"I'll be back,"

With that, Toushirou took his pinky back and disappeared in a flash-step.

I threw my head back and took a few breaths.

I hated this.

I hated absolutely everything about this situation.

How could I have let myself get to this point? I felt like death; like in another couple of minutes I was going to pass out and not wake up. I was honestly surprised at my pain tolerance; I was always such a wimp with little things like shots or ripping off a Band-Aid, yet somehow even though I've been stabbed, pummeled, sliced, and beaten with a damn stick—I'm still here.

Now what the Hell was I supposed to do?

Sit here and do nothing while Toushirou risks his life for me?

' _Well maybe if you had listened to me, we wouldn't be laying here like a flattened dead cat on the side of the road!'_ Imuza shouted at me mentally.

"I don't need to hear your shit right now, Imuza. Why don't you watch your tongue; don't forget who you're talking to." I responded aloud.

' _Just because you figured out how to remain in control doesn't mean I have to like you_ _ **or**_ _respect you for that matter!'_ Imuza spat back.

"Well as I recall, it was _you_ who _showed_ me; it's your own damn fault!" I countered.

' _Wow, shut the fuck up! It was different back then!'_ She shouted.

" **Imuza, please refrain from speaking to our Master like that,"** Yoru chimed in.

' _You stay the Hell out of it, you suck-up little piece of—!'_

" _Hey_! You need to calm your tits down right now, Imuza! Don't talk to Yoru like that! You're just jealous that she's the good angel on my shoulder and you're the demon!" I cut her off.

' _Hah! Like I'd want to be teacher's fucking pet! You're such an moron, Azumi! You disgust me!'_

"All right; I am _done_ bickering with you! If you're not gonna help me think of how to get out of this situation we're in, then shut the Hell up and get back in your damn hole until I call for you!" I shouted in frustration.

My head hurt and I felt dizzy.

Imuza fighting with me wasn't helping _at all._

I had to focus my energy on thinking of a way out of this.

' _Woah, someone's on her damn period! Quit being hormonal and get your head outta your ass!'_

I paused to chuckle in anger.

That did it, I snapped.

"Imuza, are you _fucking kidding me?_ In case you've forgotten, we're _fucking_ pregnant right now! I have every God damn reason to be hormonal right now! I don't need any shit from you, especially in the sorry state that were in right now! God! If only words could express the amount of hate I have for you right now! If I could rip you out of my soul, then you bet your ass you'd be long gone!" I retorted venomously.

"I am in so much pain right now that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and here you are making it worse! I need you to obey me by shutting the fuck up and leaving me alone!" I told her, my breathing getting more and more uneven by the second.

' _Oh, so now it's my fault that our injuries are getting worse? Hah! You're the one letting us lay here in pain without doing anything about it!'_ She chuckled harshly.

"Really? And what would you do if you were in control, _oh wise one_? I don't see any immediate way of making this shit go away!" I responded.

' _That's because you're stupid, and a sorry excuse for a Master_. _Clearly our way out of this is lying a few meters away from us, just_ _ **begging**_ _to be devoured.'_ She replied.

"What do you mean? What's over there?" I asked.

' _Clearly not your brain—if you even have one. There's a faint reiatsu over there; whoever is over there is on the verge of death. If we suck out their remaining reiatsu, then we can get our ass back up and annihilate that bastard Hajime! But hey, you're too much of a weakling to even move a finger at this point, am I right?'_ Imuza snickered.

I really hated it when she was on to something.

"God, you're _so_ annoying Imuza…cut to the chase; is the person over there a Shinigami or an Arrancar?" I asked.

' _It's too faint for me to tell, but regardless, whatever is over there is just a meal to me nonetheless.'_ She explained.

I flopped over to my stomach—carefully trying not to smack my face into the ground—and once my head settled, took a look around.

"Which way?" I asked.

" **North, Master—to your right,"** Yoru kindly responded.

"Thanks, Yoru." I replied.

' _Woah, look who's not throwing any caution to the wind and moving forward! What if it's a Shinigami?'_ Imuza asked.

I turned to the right and started crawling.

"If it's a Shinigami then I won't do anything; if it's an Arrancar, then game on." I responded.

' _God, you're seriously no fun at all!'_ Imuza huffed.

"Yeah, so I keep hearing." I sarcastically replied.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

Hajime broke free of my Ryusenka and panted down on the ground. I wasted no time going in for an attack.

I came in with a downward slash attack, to which he parried between the spikes of his arms. As my Zanpakuto wedged between the spikes, he raised his other hand quickly and pointed a Cero straight at me. I flashed away in time to dodge it, and came right back at him with another attack.

"Guncho Tsurara!" I shouted, shooting several icicles at him.

He dodged the icicles with his own form of flash step, and steadily crept closer to me. Amidst his dodging and approach, he quickly made an upward motion with his right hand; I already knew what he was up to—I didn't even have to look.

I quickly shielded myself with Hyourinmaru's ice wings in time to hear the shattering of Hajime's blood spears against my ice. Once a few seconds had passed, I unfurled myself and flash-stepped away from the immediate area. It was a good thing that I did; Hajime was almost close enough to strike me down.

"Well I'm glad you're finally back, Hitsugaya," Hajime said casually as he turned to look in my direction.

"I was just telling Eve how her first form of punishment would be me dangling your corpse in front of her." He snickered.

"You're so full of yourself that it hurts to look at you," I retorted. "Hajime, tell me something," I began, anger rising up in my throat more than it already was.

He was silent, so I continued.

"Let me get something straight; are you and Azumi related by blood?" I asked.

Azumi's claim disgusted me to the point that it made me physically sick.

I wanted to know for certain whether or not her claim was true, or a lie he told her when she lost her memories.

Hajime chuckled aloud—that obnoxious, stupid chuckle of his—before he answered.

"Let me guess, she threw the whole 'that's my brother!' spiel at you?" He paused.

"Is it the truth, or another one of the lies you made up while she didn't have any memories?" I spat impatiently.

"Temper, temper," He laughed.

"It is true; the two of us are related, but she takes it to the extreme. I was the first hybrid to ever grace the universe with my presence. However, I was created by a different mean than she was; I am the result of extensive blood and clone research. Essentially, I am a partial strand of Souma Yoshino. Azumi was created the traditional way; by fertilization of Yoshino's egg. Technically, we come from the same person, but I wouldn't call it a sibling relationship like she does. I moreover go along with it because it's fun stringing her along and playing with her emotions." Hajime grinned.

"Let me guess, are you that much more angry that she has a wonderful Aniki like me? Or does it bother you more that she thinks her _brother_ raped her? Does my victory make it that much more disturbing to you now that you know this irrelevant fact? Either way leaves me beaming," He cackled.

"You're demented, Hajime—absolutely vile and disgusting. If what you've done wasn't bad enough, you had to top it off with this tidbit. You're—"

"'Going to pay,' right?" He cut me off smugly.

He charged at me, his rapier out and pointed at me.

I parried his stab by dodging slightly, and slashing Hyourinmaru against it. In doing so, I scraped Hyourinmaru against it all the way toward the guard near the handle of the rapier, then pushed Hyourinmaru forward for a stab at his face.

He dodged the stab by back-stepping with his left foot, and tried to use the momentum in the step to slash at me with his right.

"Hado 31, Shakkaho!" I pointed my two fingers at him and blasted him away from me.

As he flew back, I flash-stepped above him and drew a triangle with my pointed fingers at him.

"Bakudo 30, Shitotsu Sansen!" I shouted, releasing the Bakudo.

The 3 points of the triangle shot down at him like missiles, and pinned him down to the ground.

Once he was pinned, I plummeted down at him, Hyourinmaru out and ready to stab him through the chest.

"Demolish the defenseless, Chupacabra!" Hajime shouted.

Red liquid came up from the ground and made its way toward me. I cursed under my breath and changed course so I could dodge.

The blood—I assumed—molded into hundreds of small, spiked marbles and then came at me clustered together in a group. They were catching up fast and I already knew that it would only be a matter of seconds when they would reach me.

I turned around and stopped abruptly.

"Hyouru Senbi!" I slashed.

The wave of horizontal ice took out some of the blood bullets, but didn't stop all of them. Luckily, it slowed down the other bullets; giving me a brief chance to distance myself further from them.

Hajime roared and grunted below; trying to get out of the Bakudo. It would only be a matter of time before he got out of it; it was only meant as an aid for reaming Hyourinmaru through his throat.

I thought about Azumi for a moment.

I hated being so stern with her like that—especially after finally getting her back. I had no choice; she literally couldn't fight anymore, and it was clear that she wasn't a match for Hajime at this point. He was more experienced in combat than she was; I'm sure that the entire time he was fighting her, he wasn't taking her seriously.

On top of that, there was another reason why I didn't want her to fight—I didn't want her to go through with actually killing him. Granted, she was right—she had more reason than anyone to take his life, however, taking the life of someone that had mental capabilities was much different than a mindless Hollow. She had already been through so much—I didn't want yet another horrible experience to happen to her.

Hajime pumped out his reiatsu and broke free of the Bakudo. I changed course back down toward him; the blood marbles creeping up quickly behind me. Hajime waited below—ready and anticipating an attack. Once I was close enough, I quickly pulled upward in my descent, flipping backward and behind the blood marbles just in time. I slashed Hyourinmaru again, another wave of ice hitting the blood marbles from behind. As the ice crashed and stopped them, it continued forward and straight at Hajime. He dodged the doubled-attack, and flashed over to me.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

For whatever reason, I had an overwhelming nurturing feeling deep down in my stomach about this one. I felt as if I should somehow get her to help, but I didn't even know what help she _could_ even get in her condition.

' _Oh my_ _ **God**_ ; _this is why I think you're stupid, Azumi. Can't you just see the damn food in front of you? She's no longer a person, she's a meal!'_ Imuza spat roughly in my head.

I crawled closer to the unconscious, barely breathing female before me. Her throat and body had been pierced straight through—leaving blood all over her. She had very tanned skin and blonde hair, and all white clothing to match the Hierro she donned on her breasts.

Her right, inner breast had the number '3' tattooed onto it—she was an Espada?

' _See? Even better! She's an enemy! The fact that she's here means that it was a victory on the side you're with! You should be stoked that she didn't kill one of your friends; Hell, she could've been fighting against Toushirou and could've killed him, right?'_

I hated it when Imuza had a point.

"You're right but…" I trailed off, my eyes fixated on her.

' _You're damn right that I'm right! I'm pissed off that this is that vegetarian bullshit, but at the moment we don't have very many options. Get on it!'_

I took a deep, pained breath, and mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do. It didn't seem right _at all_ ; it seemed vile and made my skin crawl. I felt like a vulture or a crow who decided to land and clean up the remains. It wasn't a good feeling at all, but I already knew that once I sunk my teeth into her neck and tasted her blood, the bad feeling would be dust in the wind.

I crept over to her and held my upper half up with my forearms. I looked at her with determination, and repeated aloud why I needed to do this.

"Toushirou's in danger. I need to help. Don't be an asset to his defeat; be an asset to his victory. You can do this."

The Espada didn't move, and her faint breathing remained unchanged.

She was done for no matter which way I looked at it.

Whether it was making the final blow, or father time—she didn't have much longer.

I pushed her head to the side, and slid myself slightly on top of her. I bit down into the soft, delicate flesh of her neck, my fangs having no trouble at all smoothly piercing through. I pulled myself out of the new holes I'd made, and gingerly began sucking out the sweet, sweet liquid her body was filled with.

The last time I was this happy was before everything went down in the Soul Society. I swear, I could just stay here forever; bring Toushirou in the mix and I'd be set for eternity—good lord.

I could hear her heart beat rapidly; probably trying to make up for the loss of blood it tried to circulate. After a few more seconds it began to slow; coming to terms with what was happening and surrendering. It saddened me, but unfortunately not for the reason it should have—I was sad that this feeding was almost over more than her death.

Within a minute, her body disintegrated into dust in the wind. I laid there—my face now against the concrete beneath me instead of her soft shoulder—and reveled in the feeling from the feeding.

I took a deep breath, and propped myself up until I stood up on my feet.

Assessing myself; my wounds were all still present, but nowhere near how threatening they were before. For starters, I was happy I was able to stand and breathe easier. I looked down at myself; the blood and dirt in my clothing still all over me and grossing me out. The white dress I wore reminded me of some type of haunted house costume with a bloody nurse or some type of ghost. The tears in the dress exposed some risky-business areas, but it's not like there was anything I could really do about it beside give everyone a free show. I shook the embarrassment and continued assessing myself.

I stretched my arms and legs, hopped around, did a quick flash-step, and tried kicks and punches. I wasn't at 100%-more like a good 65% more than anything else. But compared to being at 2%, it was something I could work with.

"Yoru, how are you?" I asked.

" **Somewhat better; the same as you are, Master."** She replied.

"Good to fight?" I asked.

" **At your command,"** She replied.

"Great; let's do this," I stated aloud as I turned back in the direction of Hajime and Toushirou.

' _Now listen here, Azumi. Let's talk this out before we go barreling in to our death,'_ Imuza said.

As much as I didn't want to listen to her and do my own thing, she was the one that pointed out the Espada and saved us.

"I'm listening,"

' _About time! Here's what we're gonna do…'_

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

After getting several shots in on one another, the two of us were fatigued. It wouldn't be much longer until one of us slipped up and took in a critical blow. It wasn't going to be me—I was going to be the one to finish this. Hajime was going to die here—today—by my hand.

My injuries as a whole weren't looking good.

In all honesty, if Kira hadn't have been wandering about and found me, I wouldn't have been able to pull half of this off. Hajime took in a considerable amount of damage as well; some from Azumi, and a lot from me. To be frank, if he didn't have that Hierro everywhere he wouldn't still be amongst the living. It took most of the blows, but I was still able to break through it and hit some vital points. He was weakened, and I had to keep it up to make an opening before he could recuperate.

We both ricocheted off each other's attack and bounced backward. As Hajime landed, a chuckle rose up from his throat.

"You're probably thinking you have a chance at killing me now that you've got some shots in; aren't you Hitsugaya?" He questioned.

I snapped Hyourinmaru downward; getting Hajime's disgusting blood off him.

"I've never thought that I merely had a _chance_ at killing you; it's always simply been that I _am_ going to kill you. As far the blows I've landed on you, they only aid me in finalizing your demise." I replied callously.

He chortled at my remark and shook his head.

"It's hilarious how you're so assured that you're going to succeed. So what—you plan on killing me, the Espada, _and_ Aizen, then gallivanting off into the sunset with Azumi on one side and _my_ child on the other? You're such a naïve fool, Hitsugaya—really. The fact that you're so infatuated with that hideous beast of a female is disgusting; even more so _now_ that she's nothing more than _sloppy_ _seconds_." He shifted his weight nonchalantly.

His words infuriated me.

I wanted to do horrible, unspeakable, torturous things to him—like break every single bone in his body or stab him repeatedly until I see all signs of life fade from his eyes.

"I pity you, Hajime," I began through clenched teeth.

I glared straight into his silver eyes, not breaking contact for even a blink.

"Out of every single person I've met in all the years that I've lived, you will be the first that I completely obliterate." I concluded.

I flash-stepped directly in front of him, Hyourinmaru coming down on him with all the force I had.

Suddenly, both of his palms slapped together and caught my sword mid slash; a huge amount of reiatsu behind the force.

He grinned; his protruding fangs visible all the way up to the gum line due to his lips curving upward.

"Got you," He said.

His reiatsu skyrocketed out of control as he held me in place with his grasp on Hyourinmaru. He laughed manically; a more demonically deep pitch tainting the tone of his voice. As he laughed, his body changed before me; his narcissistic aura changing into a much more sinister, and uneasy sensation.

After another few seconds, he caught his breath from his laughter; a few deep-pitched chortles here and there as he shook his head.

"Now,"

He rose his head up, donned with a new mask to look at me.

"The real fun can begin," He smiled.


	53. Chapter 53

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

Hajime had transformed into—what I assumed was—his final release. Monstrous wasn't quite the best word to describe him anymore; he had lost all the grotesque traits of his previous release to a more simplistic form.

His mask seemed as if it was made of some type of thick latex material; as he grinned up at me, it was like he wasn't even wearing a mask. It moved with his facial features, but didn't necessarily look merged with his skin. It was almost as if it were a projection on his face—as unrealistic as that sounded. His teeth were on the outside of his mask—similar to Azumi and Kurosaki—and he had a horizontal opening clear across his entire mask at eye level that was spaced enough for his entire eye to be seen.

I tried to get out of Hajime's hold, but to no avail. The pressure on Hyourinmaru was tremendous and I already knew that if I didn't get out of the hold quickly, he'd try to snap Hyourinmaru in half.

I pulled back, and used the movement to pull him down with me. I swung Hyourinmaru's ice tail underneath the two of us and back-flipped; sending him flying behind me as I back-flipped. I came up from the flip, and quickly turned around to begin an attack.

Before I could even execute anything—or even take a moment to fully turn around—Hajime was already up and headed toward me.

He crashed into me like a bullet train before I could even dodge. I flew back into one of the tall buildings; my left ice wing cracking into two pieces upon the collision.

No faster than a blink, I had several hundred blood spikes above me, ready to pierce through me like a needle through cloth.

"Danku!" I shouted, palm out-stretched forward.

The rectangular, invisible shield appeared in front of me just in time. The blood spears crashed against it, shattering and spraying fine shards in all directions along it.

I got up and flashed out of there.

Hajime wasted no time in catching up to me.

"Where're you running off to, Hitsugaya?" Hajime shouted with heavy playfulness in his tone.

I ignored him and focused my energy trying to prepare my next attack.

"Are you scared, Hitsugaya? What happened to 'I'm going to kill you. Hajime?' At this rate you're only proving that you're a coward! What's that little whore going to think of you when she finds out that you ran away and abandoned her? What is she going to do when she finds out that you're not even a man—when she finds out you're nothing but a boy playing pretend?" Hajime shouted.

He appeared in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. He swiped at me and hit me straight across my face. I flew down toward the ground as he cackled and flash stepped after me. I used this opportunity to create an ice clone of myself and flash out of there. I lucked out—it worked.

I flashed into a nearby building through a broken window, and made the final preparations for my attack. Hajime took the bait; he attacked the ice clone I'd left behind. As soon as he stabbed his arm straight through my clone's chest was when he realized just what it was. By that time it was already too late. I jumped out from my hiding spot, and swung Hyourinmaru out before me.

"Sennen—!"

He cut me off by appearing in front of me and slashing down again at me. I blocked last second, but the force of the attack still sent me back down toward the ground at an incredibly fast rate.

Hajime was too quick; he was already on me mid-descent.

Quickly, I shielded myself with Hyourinmaru's wings and took in Hajime's blows along with the crash into the concrete below.

I reinforced my ice wings quickly, and created a full ice barrier around myself to take the crash. Nevertheless, I hit the ground forcefully, my head knocking back against it, and the rest of my body slamming against it. I had but a brief moment to recuperate before Hajime was back.

I was so drained that it was hard to not just lay there—it was all I wanted to do. My ice flowers lingering about behind me had dwindled down to 1 ½ petals. At the rate I was going; I wouldn't last 5 more minutes. Sleep sounded so good; letting everything go and drifting off to sleep...

Azumi's face flashed through my mind.

My eyes shot open—heavy from the pain of my broken ribs, torn muscles and alike. I had to keep them open; I had to keep going. Azumi's life was on the line; _everyone's_ life was on the line. With this sadistic, twisted demon around, no one was safe. Beside him, there were the other 3 that still needed to be dealt with; the other 3 ruthless, malicious, bastards that threatened all lifeforms in existence.

I couldn't just give up and die.

"Growl,"

That voice…

"Haineko!"

Rubble tumbled down toward me; Hajime's hurried footwork to dodge Matsumoto's attack the cause of the rubble to roll down and hit my ice barrier.

I took a deep breath, and got back up. The ice shield around me cracked and shattered to the ground as I emerged.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto called.

Hajime was up above; Haineko's ash surrounding him. He didn't move, and wasn't fazed at all by the ash around him; he moreover looked amused than panicked.

Matsumoto flashed over to me; troubled by my appearance.

"Taichou, what are your orders?" She asked.

Without even having to say it, we both knew she was outmatched. Even so, Matsumoto was willing to give it her all and try to attack him anyway if that's what I wanted her to do.

I looked her straight in the eye for a moment. Her determination was present, her willingness and loyalty to me never more clear than it was at that moment. I owed this woman; although most of the time she was a pain, when it came down to it she was the most reliable Fukutaichou I could ask for.

"Watch my back," I responded.

"Hai, Taichou!" She replied.

I turned around and looked up at Hajime.

He stood there, smirking down at the two of us.

"Oh, are you both done chatting?" He asked playfully.

I flashed up to him, Hyourinmaru ready for the attack. Hajime pumped out a wave of reiatsu and successfully dispersed Haineko's ash with the blast.

As soon as I was above him, I faked him out with a kido attack.

"Shakkaho!" I shouted, blasting the attack at him.

As he dodged, I followed up with a wave of ice and a Sokatsui. The ice slowed him down just enough for the Sokatsui to make contact. He flew back from the attack, and Matsumoto came in with an unexpected attack.

"Haineko!" She commanded.

The ash encircled Hajime with absolutely no openings. The ash was so thick that visibility inside it was lost, which was perfect for a quick combination.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted, reading my mind.

I raised Hyourinmaru up and pointed him at Hajime.

"Shinku Taso Hyoheki!" I shouted.

Small particles of Hyourinmaru's ice combined with Haineko's ash, and continued to swivel around Hajime. Once there was enough ice within the ash, I waved quickly for Matsumoto to call back her attack. She called it off, and all that remained was a layer of snow-like shards of ice circling around him. With how fine they were, I could easily control and create almost anything I wanted, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

In honesty, I was surprised Hajime hadn't already broken out or made an attempt of getting out of the attack. The only thing I could think of was that he assumed the attack wouldn't end up hurting him, so it was pointless to waste energy in trying to make an escape—smug, overconfident, bastard. Regardless, it was still a shot in, and I wasn't about to just let it slide.

With a quick wave of my hand, I commanded the swiveling ice to stop abruptly. As soon as it did, I waved my hand once more to morph the snow into what would hopefully deal a great bit of damage. Within one second, the ice changed into my version of an iron maiden; spikes on the inside of the sphere that impaled the demon trapped inside.

After an audible transformation, it seemed as if time stood still for a moment.

The spikes definitely formed and impaled him, but there was no clarification on whether or not Hajime took in the damage. I literally had them emerge from each and every inch of that sphere, yet there was no gasping, screaming, blood, or anything. Just what the Hell was going on?

I held out my palm in front of me, and curled it into a fist; commanding the sphere to shrink and curl inward. As it began to do as instructed, Hajime pumped out his reiatsu, and immediately the sphere exploded; the ice particles splattering everywhere. The spikes got him all right—that much was for certain. However, even though his body had been stabbed pretty much everywhere, he didn't seem fazed.

"That was a weak attack, Hitsugaya—even for you," Hajime began coolly.

"Rich, coming from the one full of holes," I retorted.

Hajime looked about himself, that stupid smirk still plastered across his face.

"Oh you mean these mosquito bites? Hah! As if this could really slow me down now," He replied.

I went for it—I tried yet again at a frontal attack.

As I made my way toward him, I launched off a few Hado attacks in combination with some sword techniques. About 40% of my attacks actually caused damage while the other 60% were deflected. The two of us hopped back, assessing each other briefly before our next attacks.

"All right Hitsugaya, let me show you why I'm superior to you; the reason why I deserve to be feared and respected as a ruler. I'll give you just a brief taste,"

Hajime outstretched his hand and aimed it at Matsumoto.

"Matsumoto!" I shouted, but it was already too late.

She screamed and hunched over in pain, holding her right arm. Blood sprayed out of her like a mist and into the atmosphere above her.

"What the Hell did you just do to her?" I shouted venomously at him.

Matsumoto's arm hung limply at her side, all the blood seeping out of it immediately rising up to the air.

"The look on your face is _priceless_ , Hitsugaya! Oh man—I love it!" he chuckled with a huge grin on his face.

After one flash-step forward, all control of my body was gone once again. My arms were thrust outward, and my legs straight together; making my body like a cross.

Hajime caught his breath from his chuckling and continued.

"A nice little trick this form grants me is what you just saw. In my previous forms, I could only steal blood if there was already an open wound somewhere on the body. Now, I can create that opening internally by making the blood burst your veins, and then making it erupt through your pores; it's such a useful technique—you have no idea! So on top of control of your entire body, I can literally make you explode—isn't that exciting?" He explained giddily, stepping closer to me.

I looked down at Matsumoto.

Her right arm was done for; it was all shriveled and seemed as if all control was gone. She was panting in pain, wincing as she tried to look back up at me.

I grit my teeth and looked back at Hajime.

"You're going to pay for that, you bastard," I growled.

"Hey, hey, is that something that you should really be saying in the situation you're in, Hitsugaya?"

Immediately upon completion of his comeback, all the blood inside me circulated violently; it was as if my blood literally began to boil inside me.

"I didn't think so," He said melodically, that huge grin still growing every passing second.

"Well, it's been _fun_ , Hitsugaya. You were _almost_ a worthy adversary," He chuckled.

Before he could even make a move, I made mine.

His body completely stiffened and straightened out like mine; his arms spread out in a straight line as my own were.

The initial panicked expression he made had me smirking right back at him.

"What the—!" He stammered. "What the fuck did you do?" He shouted at me, furiously.

Words can't even begin to describe how much I reveled in that moment. His confused, and almost desperate tone in his voice was absolutely perfect.

"What happened? I thought you claimed to be more intelligent than I am? Surely you haven't forgotten what 75% of the body consists of, have you?" I continued. "If you can control blood—a substance made almost entirely of water—then it's safe to say that it's something I also can control. Not so smug now are you?" I retorted.

Hajime grunted at my comeback. The fact that he wasn't so calm and collected anymore created a huge opening. In truth, I didn't know if I _could_ control his body; it was a last ditch attempt that surprisingly worked. The idea came to me from my previous battle with Harribel; if it wasn't for her reminder, I wouldn't have thought of it in this situation. It took a lot of reiatsu to keep the control, however; I couldn't keep it up for long, but at the very least it bought me some time to figure out how to get out of this before he took action.

Before either of us could make a move, a huge amount of reiatsu spiked next to the two of us. We both zeroed in our sights, and just as soon as we did, a huge purple Cero was heading straight for us.

I cringed for impact, but the Cero just barely missed me.

Hajime took the blow entirely, crashing down to the ground beneath us. As soon the attack hit, the hold he had on my body was gone, and I caught myself before gravity took hold. I looked back up at the one who executed the attack.

Floating above me—wings outstretched and a slender white scythe held proudly at her side—was a bloodied, familiar female.

"A-Azumi?" I stammered out.

She looked completely different, but I knew just by one glance that it was her.

She had two, full wings protruding out of her spine; boney, white and sharp. They had sharp protrusions from the joints of the main bone, and the bones were connected by thin, white flesh—much like bat wings. Her body for the most part looked normal, however, her forearms were shielded by sharp Hierro. The guard on her forearms reminded me almost of her tonfa; the armor covered every inch of her forearm in an elegant look, and the top by her elbows curved outward in sharp points.

Her mask changed as well. It wasn't like Hajime's in the sense that it looked projected onto her face, however, it was similar in the sense that it was plain compared to their other masks. Hers outlined her face, and allowed her bangs to cover part of her forehead. There was no mouth or nostril openings; just the two eye openings that showed her completely blackened eyes.

Without another moment passing, she dove past me, tucking her wings in for a quick downward descent.

Her demeanor was different than I'd ever seen it before.

Azumi had always gone through different emotions when she fought. However, even when she was beyond furious at something—or even very concentrated—there was always something holding her back. It wasn't necessarily fear or reason, however, the best word that I can think of to describe it would be hesitance. Even when she was completely uncontrollable and running rampant, she always gave me that impression.

Now, with just one look at her, I could already tell that her hesitance was gone. Something within her seemed like it finally snapped; could it be because of this new form?

With a multi-toned screech, she crashed down straight at Hajime. She didn't even swing her scythe; she literally banked on damaging him solely by landing on him. The earth beneath them hollowed inward with the attack—Hajime roaring in pain from the blow.

He pumped out his reiatsu more than I'd ever seen before.

Azumi spread her wings, and let the force of his reiatsu blow her up into the air. She stopped herself when she was a good distance away from him, and I snapped my head down at Hajime.

He panted harshly, and wiped his mouth from the blood that seeped out of it. He smiled up at Azumi—the mere gesture of it strangely eerie—and cracked his neck loudly without even using his hands.

"Well look who was able to reach her final form! I'm impressed, Eve; I honestly didn't think you had it in you. From awakening into your true self not too long ago, and already at this level—fascinating. However, it's still next to nothing compared to my power," He paused to chuckle.

"So, this is what it would've been like coming from the womb, eh? I could only imagine what the one growing inside you will be like once he's out. Like father like son, hopefully; a healthy craving for carnage and violence preferably," He concluded.

He waited for Azumi to respond; waiting for her to play into his mental games.

She remained silent.

Suddenly, the thought that it might not be her slapped me in the face. Was Azumi the conscious one, or was Imuza running the show? The two of them shared the same personality traits of chattering and letting their emotions get the better of them, yet she was just silent.

Just what was going on here?

Azumi gingerly rose up her palm up to about shoulder height. With her wrist bent and palm facing upward; a black, energetic sphere appeared floating on her palm. It pulsated in slow, almost even beats while it swiveled around. At first I thought that it was another form of Cero, but the way that it pulsated like that left me completely uneasy.

Screams suddenly broke the silence; loud, violent, and pleading screaming. I didn't even have to look around to know that they came from the sphere in her hand; it was now jerking around violently, and then in an instant expanded around Azumi.

It slithered around her like darkness incarnate; still screaming as it caressed her entire form provocatively. She turned her wrist—the back of her hand now facing upward—and pointed her index finger straight at Hajime.

The darkness stopped; raising completely off her and rising up into the air, lumped together. Immediately, it speedily threw itself down at Hajime. He hurriedly dodged the black mass, however it didn't let up with just that initial offense. It chased him fiercely; not letting up even for a second.

It reminded me of Kurosaki's Getsuga Tensho, and Kuchiki's Senbonzakura with only two major differences. Theirs were not as fast as this for one, and two—the aura given off by this strange mass of energy was absolutely frighteningly malicious. The aura it emitted alone would've already subdued any weak-minded individual, and the screams would've sealed their demise. My question was; just where the Hell was this coming from?

The Azumi I knew wasn't like this, and neither was Imuza for that matter. Imuza was sadistic and evil, but she didn't quite meet the criteria of just what was going on right now.

I looked up at Azumi.

Her hand was now down at her side, her scythe still proudly at her side. She stared down at Hajime, watching his every movement intensely.

"Azumi," I called.

No response; not even a slight acknowledgment.

I quickly gazed back at Hajime; making sure to keep an eye on what the situation was below. I only glanced down for a second, and when I turned my head back to Azumi, she was already gone.

Her speed—it was unreal.

She was on the ground with Hajime; attacking him alongside the darkness she controlled.

While she handled things temporarily, I flash-stepped to down to Matsumoto.

"Matsumoto!" I ran over to her.

She still was slightly hunched over, her arm still limp and lifeless at her side.

"T-Taichou," She managed.

I took hold of her arm and inspected it closer.

The pores on every inch of her arm were widened; the coloration of her arm paler than her normal skin tone. Her flesh was loose and withered; like the stem and leaves of a flower just before it hardens and crumbles to dust.

"We'll get Orihime to fix it; please try to bear the pain a little longer," I told her.

"H-Hai, Taichou," She complied.

The two of us both looked toward Azumi and Hajime's battle; the screams and impacts audibly reverberating on the earth.

"W-What happened to her?" Matsumoto asked.

"I'm not sure," I trailed off, distracted by the darkness branching out briefly into the sky before crashing back down at Hajime.

"I have some good news; she regained her memories." I told her.

"S-She did? That's great news; I'm so happy to hear that," Matsumoto replied.

I could tell that Matsumoto wanted to jump around and celebrate like she normally would, but her injuries prevented her from doing anything.

She suddenly stepped forward, taking heavy steps toward the battle.

"Matsumoto,"

"I don't care what's going on with her," She paused, taking more strained steps. "I'm going over there to help her."

"Matsumoto, in your condition I don't think it's wise to—"

"No, Taichou." She promptly cut me off, stopping in her pace for just a second.

"I'm not going to just stand here like all the other times; I refuse to stand here and not help either of you. With, or without an arm; I'm going over there to give it all I have." She concluded, taking a moment to turn around and look at me sternly.

There was no helping it.

I walked over to her, put her arm atop my shoulders, and took off skyward with her. I stopped above the scene playing out below to assess the situation.

Azumi was—without any doubt—far stronger than she was before.

However, even with this newfound strength, she still took in more damage from Hajime. She dealt quite a bit of damage to him as well, but with comparing the two of their reiatsu, Hajime had a higher amount than she did.

Granted, in many cases, even with a lower reiatsu victory was still possible. The key is reading your opponents moves, finding a weak-spot, and going in with everything you have. Hajime was already fairly weakened, and with the three of us here, there was such a low percentage that he would actually win. However, if the proper precautions aren't taken, he could very well kill one of us before we can get the jump on him.

I was reaching my limit; I literally only had one flower petal remaining behind me. I needed to act quickly, and finish him off. With how weakened he was, I could possibly have a chance to…

"Matsumoto," I began.

She looked up at me and I continued.

"I don't want Azumi to go through with this. You and I have already been through the 'ins and outs' of battle; we both understand and accept that death to an enemy is vital. No matter what has happened, Azumi isn't ready to take the plunge just yet; do you agree?" I asked.

"Whole-heartedly. I don't want her to finish him off; she's been scarred so much already," She replied.

"Then we're in agreement," I stated.

She nodded as I continued.

"I'll finish him off while you get her out of there. Think you can manage?"

"Hai, Taichou!" She quickly responded.

"Go."

She took a breath to ready herself before raising the hilt of her Zanpakuto with her left hand.

"Growl, Haineko!"


	54. Chapter 54

**Takashita Azumi**

This had be the greatest, yet worst idea that I had ever had.

This new form that I'd learned how to access from Imuza was absolutely magnificent, except for one major flaw...

I had no idea how to control it.

I only had two thoughts in my head before I let myself transform: kill Hajime, then kill Aizen.

As soon as I transformed, those two thoughts became the only thing that mattered. They turned into objectives that I had no choice but to follow. I felt like I was a robot given the command to do this or be deactivated.

In all honesty, this form scared me.

I thought Imuza's persona and losing control were bad enough as it was, but this—this just felt sadistic. In this form, all of the souls that were consumed by the Hollows I'd previously consumed came to life within me. Angry, panicked, relentless, depressed, sexual, psychotic—you name it—souls all surfaced to do my bidding and taint my thoughts. I felt like the most possessed being in the universe with all the thoughts and emotions of these souls.

However, beside the obvious torture and fear I went through mentally, these souls gave me power I never thought I could possess. I felt unstoppable—like I could do it anything I ever wanted in this form. The only problem was my lack of control.

If I could master this form, the possibilities would be endless.

' _Didn't I tell you? This is my true power; you don't stand a chance without me.'_ Imuza commented.

It was weird; it wasn't like we were in Imuza's domain, but it also wasn't like I was in my body. I could see and feel everything, but this body of mine made all the movements. It wasn't like it was another entity within me; there was no consulting with her like there was with Imuza and Yoru. It was just like I was a puppet; my motives pulling the strings.

"You and I are of the same soul; without me you wouldn't even exist. Its not like you're some demon that possessed me—even though it feels like it. You are me. So, let me rephrase what you just said: this is _our_ true power. Once we can master this, we'll be quite the force to reckon with." I replied.

Imuza scoffed as she replied. _'You're such a_ team-player _—disgusting.'_

I let her comment slide and focused back in on what was actually going on.

I was definitely giving Hajime a run for his money—that was for sure—but I wasn't quite at the finish line yet. Hajime kept up with me, and was able to cause some damage back to me as well. All that my body could do was focus on the task at hand. I couldn't focus on anything other than killing Hajime as violently as I could muster.

He attempted trying to talk to me a few times, but I didn't give him enough leeway to get more than a few words out. Hajime in this form was powerful; he and I almost equal. If I didn't play this correctly, he'd use the opportunity to really get the jump on me.

I slashed my scythe at him again from my left while the dark mass of souls I controlled came at him violently from the right. He tried to dodge by jumping back diagonally, but still ended up taking damage from my scythe. He took the damage on his left side, just underneath his arm near his ribcage.

Before he could even land, I curled my wings forward and pointed the sharp bone sticking out of my joints straight at him. With the darkness on the way to him—keeping him at bay momentarily—I conjured up a Cero at the center focal point my pointed wings created. I let out a monstrous scream that scared even myself, and the purple Cero immediately formed and shot out at him in a large beam of energy.

Hajime quickly crossed his arms over himself as a guard, but still took the hit head-on. With my new speed, I was able to accomplish the attack in less than 6 seconds—there was literally no way he could've dodged it.

The darkness came back and swiveled around me. I waited to see the result of the attack before continuing. It was strange because with this body, it was hard to just stand still. I had such a drive for carnage it was unreal. It was like an itch that I couldn't find and scratch on my body, but it was there—bothering me and driving me insane with its presence. My collected and rational mind was completely terrified by this feeling, yet there was a sick, twisted pleasure I got out of it.

**Wow. I really am a monster; aren't I?**

"You must think you're so clever,"

My body froze again; Hajime's blood manipulation completely immobilizing me where I stood.

"Don't you, Eve?" Hajime grunted, standing up and wiping the dirt off his clothes.

I could feel myself trying to move, but to no avail.

"You should know better by now,"

He rose his hand up, and I levitated up along with it.

"You're nothing."

He slammed me against the building to my right.

He flashed over to me; looking at my body stuck in the concrete wall. He crept up to my face and stared me straight in the eye.

"You are nothing but a meat sack made for my bidding,"

My arms and legs felt like they instantly exploded into a million pieces.

I screamed and roared in pain along with the troubled souls lingering around me. My scythe fell down onto the ground, but through all my screaming, I couldn't even hear it clank. All the blood in each of my limbs sprayed out of me like a gust of air. The pain was so unreal that I can't find any words to describe it. I couldn't feel any of my limbs—what was I supposed to do now?

"The sooner you accept your fate, the less pain you'll endure," Hajime continued, as he backed away slowly.

My blood that floated in the air above us, gathered together and split into spikes that pointed directly at me.

"Understand?" Hajime smirked.

My screaming finally ceased; grunting and snarling at Hajime taking its place in my throat. I was so overwhelmed with that sense of carnage; the pain from my wounds mixed with adrenaline completely pushed away any rational thoughts that still remained.

"Growl!"

Ash at that moment came between Hajime and I; loud clashing on the other side of the ash. A familiar face that I'd been dying to see appeared before me.

" _Rangiku!"_ I squealed in excitement internally.

"Azumi! Come with me!" Rangiku shouted frantically as she grabbed my still, lifeless arm.

I didn't say a word; this form completely dictating my actions toward her. I looked away from her, snarling and growling like a hungry wolf in Hajime's direction. She wrapped her arm around my torso and tried to leave with me. I noticed she only used her left arm. Out of my peripheral, I saw her dead, withered right arm—did Hajime do that to her?

Hajime's technique was still in full effect, even though he was now fighting. My body hardly budged from the spot it was in; Rangiku had a hard time trying to move me. I heard her mumble something under her breath and take a quick look behind her shoulder. She turned back around and tried with all her might to try moving me again.

"Matsumoto!" Toushirou shouted.

"I'm trying!" She shouted back.

They must have come up with some type of plan; it was the only thing I could think of. If I were in full control—without Hajime controlling the leftover blood in me—I'd probably go along with it.

I felt more light-headed than I already did. Hajime really pulled a number on me with that last move—that was for sure. If I wasn't in this form, I would've already passed out by now.

Rangiku was finally able to move me. She hurriedly tried to escape with me, but the hold Hajime had on me only lessened a little. We were able to move just a few feet, and into the cover of the building that I had just been stuck in. Haineko's ash followed with us as a protective barrier for the time being.

Once we were under the cover of the building; Rangiku called back the ash, and used her kido abilities to create a barrier around us. As the ash cleared, I looked up to see Toushirou up in the sky—thrashed, beaten and wounded—still going up against Hajime. He wasn't going to last very long in the condition he was in...I had to do something.

[.x.]

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

I couldn't wait any longer.

It had to be done, even with the two of them still within proximity.

Azumi weakened him just enough for this move to work, but if I gave him enough time to recuperate, we could lose this.

Quickly, I used my newfound form of water manipulation and froze Hajime down on the ground. He had one option: let Azumi go and try to control me with the same technique.

While I had him pinned, I lifted Hyourinmaru to the sky and glared down at him.

"You're through; you'll never hurt Azumi again," I breathed out.

"Hyouten Hyakkasou,"

The storm clouds that had gathered in the sky parted once again; snowflakes floated down to the entire area.

I could feel Hajime trying in a last ditch effort trying to manipulate me, but it was already too late. The snow was too close to him; he was done for. I looked down toward Azumi and Matsumoto to see they had fled further into the crumbling building—Hajime's hold on Azumi clearly gone. As the first snowflake landed on Hajime and he began roaring and grunting in frustration, my bankai began to dissipate. My ice wings began cracking and breaking off in chunks. I was spent; completely, and utterly out of adrenaline and energy.

"Hitsugaya!" Hajime spat out my name as he tried so diligently to get out of my control.

"You think this is the end? You really think you've won?" He snarled venomously at me.

When I didn't answer and the snowflakes were already expanding, he started laughing manically.

"You're such a fool!" He shouted.

"I have no end! Before you know it, I'll be out of this and back at you with everything I've got! You're dead wro—"

The building Azumi and Matsumoto were barricaded inside of burst open from the rooftop. Black tendrils that slithered around like octopus tentacles emerged with the initial explosion. The screaming from Azumi's dark mass intensified so dramatically that I had to cover my ears; losing focus on the hold I had on Hajime.

Azumi surfaced from inside the building; the dark tentacles protecting her against the snow falling in the air. Her arms and legs that Hajime had taken out with his control now had that dark aura of hers around them. Her body glowed like a dimly lit candle, as pieces of the dark mass around her entered into her limbs; no doubt providing her mobility.

"Azumi! No! Get away from here!" I shouted at her in complete panic.

She didn't even look my way; all of her focus was on Hajime.

She rose up her right hand and within seconds, her scythe left on the ground below rose up and retreated back to her hand. The darkness reveled around her, and in an instant, it blew all my snowflakes away from her.

She rose up high in the sky; her wings spread out magnificently and her scythe now held with both hands. The dwelling tendrils of darkness bunched together into one solid mass, then spread out evenly across the entire sky. The entire vicinity was now pitch black, her attack with Yoru no Shedo instantly coming to mind.

Amidst the darkness, a bright, florescent white light illuminated the area from up above. Immediately I squinted from the harshness of the light. After my eyes lightly adjusted, I looked up toward the light; vision blurred but slowly focusing.

An enormous full moon hung ominously above us; Azumi at the very center of it. Her wings completely spread out behind her, and her form poised, elegant, and confident.

She…she looked like…

" _ **Let's hope the angel you've come here for…can save your soul…"**_

An angel…

Tokiwa's words...

As the seconds passed and I stared at her, I had a realization about her and Tokiwa's words. The confidence, the aura surrounding her, the blood-curdling sounds that emitted from her; she wasn't just an ordinary angel. It all finally clicked in my mind—Azumi's true form didn't save souls; it took them.

Azumi was…

…an Angel of Death.

And not just any death; death that one cannot reincarnate from. She wasn't like a Shinigami; she wiped out souls completely, if not absorbing them for her bidding. Aside from myself and the ones she truly cared about; that was what it came down to.

But strangely…

…none of that even matter to me.

It was because she…she was...

…my angel.

At that moment with her appearance, it couldn't have been more apparent. I loved her more than I ever had for anyone else. It didn't matter what she was—she was my everything.

Azumi flapped her wings, breaking my train of thought as she dove down at Hajime.

Before I could even blink, she swung down her scythe at Hajime; a blinding light erupting from the contact. I closed my eyes from it out of reaction, and when I opened them, the surrounding darkness was gone; Azumi standing there motionlessly with her wings in a dormant position the first thing my eyes focused on. Immediately I flashed down toward her.

Hajime was completely sliced in half.

My ice covered almost all of him; his face was the only part of him that remained. His mask shattered off his face; his dead, lifeless eyes open and staring skyward.

Within a few more seconds, his face entirely turned to ash; sinking into the—now hollowed—ice remnants that once covered him.

Matsumoto arrived at that moment behind the two of us; panting and dragging toward us. I turned to look at Azumi. She still stared straight at the spot where Hajime was; motionless, and eerily silent amidst the grunting of the dark tendrils around her.

"Azumi,"

She didn't even look at me.

"Azumi, are you—"

As I reached toward her, she swatted my hand away from her with one of the tendrils behind her; the action cutting off my sentence completely.

She turned to look at me for a moment.

Her eyes were darker than I'd seen them before, and gave me the feeling that she could see directly into my soul.

"It's over now," I began cautiously.

She didn't reply.

"Azumi," I continued, "you're injured; we need to leave."

She looked back at the spot Hajime last inhabited, then fluidly turned her head to her left, and up toward the sky.

Before I could say another word, her wings unfurled—making Matsumoto and I jump back to avoid getting hit. Once they finished stretching out, she flapped them once briefly, then flapped so hard that she took off into the sky.

"Azumi! What are you—"

She took off quickly in the direction she previous stared toward.

"Where is she—" Matsumoto began, before cutting herself off with our realization.

"She's going after Aizen!" The two of us shouted.

"Taichou, she's running off that mass of energy she controls; when we were in the building, she absorbed part of it into her limbs to give her mobility so she could get back to the fight. Whatever this new form is, it isn't our rational Azumi-chan! We have to do something!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

She was right.

The only problem was that both of us were severely injured.

"Damn it!" I cursed.

I took off after her, Matsumoto right behind me.

-[×]-

**Takashita Azumi**

Although I didn't control my actual action, my body and I had the same idea: _Take down Aizen._

It was risky because of how injured I was, but in this form, I was far more powerful than I had ever been before. Even though I had some serious doubt, I had to give it a shot at the very least. But hey, even if I couldn't take Aizen out, at least Hajime was officially out of the picture.

The visual of the final blow I gave him repeated in my head as I sped toward Aizen. I always imagined killing someone differently—I imagined that I'd be crying like a child, and not looking directly at them when I dealt the final blow.

Looking at Hajime's eyes as they lost all signs of life definitely internally scarred me, but at this point, what's another scar?

I almost feel bad for Toushirou and Rangiku; they tried so hard to protect me from things like this, but here I am, putting myself in harm's way and doing it anyway. But regardless, whether I had control over myself or not, I still would've done this either way. We were in the middle of a war; Aizen's defense could let up because of that, and I might get a chance.

Before I knew it, I was already there. Aizen wasn't 30 feet from me.

Ichigo was failing hard.

I didn't have to look twice to see that Aizen really did a number on him. Ichigo was hanging in there, but not by very much. I had no idea where Tousen and Gin were, but I assumed they were elsewhere fighting.

Aizen looked so different; he had a mask over his entire head, seemingly as if it were skin. Just what the Hell was this? Was he part Hollow? He was a Shinigami previously; when the Hell did this even happen? Then again, I shouldn't have been surprised—I mean, look at me.

In one hit, Aizen sent Kurosaki flying down toward the pavement. It was like he just swatted a fly—which was scarier than I thought it'd be. He looked over at me, resting his hand back down at his side.

"Ah, my precious experiment; what an interesting form," He began.

He waited for a reply, to which I gave none.

"Eve, what was the command I gave to you before I left?" He asked.

Silence again.

"I see; how unfortunate." He replied.

He rose his Zanpakuto up toward me, and without another moment passing, I attacked.

I went in with a direct frontal assault that took little effort for Aizen to block. I swung at him again with my scythe, much more rhythmically and several times. He blocked each and every one—this was bad. Finally, he pushed me back and I flew with tremendous speed into the nearby building. I coughed up from the blow inside my mask; my own blood back-splashing up against my face before finally dripping down my chin. I picked myself up, and used my agility to launch myself back at him.

Evidently I opted for another frontal attack, to no avail. The darkness around me whipped at him as I continued to try frontal, speed attacks. The ones that actually connected literally induced no harm—just what the Hell was Aizen?

Aizen struck me fiercely across my chest; the sheer force of the blow alone enough to knock the wind out of me, and the actual slice so painful I almost lost consciousness. As I flew down toward the ground, a familiar presence caught my attention. Somehow—even though I could hardly control anything—I was able to turn my head to see them.

Toushirou and Rangiku arrived on the scene.

As soon as my wings and body hit the ground, they both were already at my side.

"Azumi!" Toushirou shouted.

"Azumi-chan!" Rangiku echoed.

Rangiku bent down to me and tried to help me up with her one good arm, while Toushirou already had his Zanpakuto drawn and pointed at Aizen.

"Aizen…" Toushirou trailed off, anger seeping through his gritted teeth.

Aizen said nothing, just looked down at us like he was a king looking at peasants.

"Matsumoto, get her out of here," Toushirou ordered.

"Ha—"

Before Rangiku could reply, I quickly was on my feet, my wings pushing her back before they curved inward in front of me.

"Azumi! Don't—"

But it was too late.

I had already formed a Cero and launched the beam directly at Aizen.

As he moved to evade it, I followed suit; almost getting Toushirou and Rangiku hit with the trailing Cero in the process. As the two of them flashed away, the darkness I controlled pushed me up to my feet, and I continued to chase Aizen with my huge purple Cero. It was seriously as if we were playing a game and I was trying to shoot him with a super soaker. He was not taking this seriously at all—he was just playing with me.

Seemingly out of nowhere; he appeared next to me on my right side, and completely lopped off my right wing.

The Cero stopped, and I screeched in pain.

I could hear Toushirou and Rangiku screeching my name in horror as my wing thumped on the ground. In milliseconds, Aizen with a single, delicate movement, slashed me to the ground. Toushirou was on Aizen before I even hit the ground. Aizen dodged Toushirou as I laid there coughing blood all over myself from his blow. I couldn't take it anymore; I had completely reached my limit. With all the trauma I'd endured, I'd never felt as close to the verge to death than I had in that moment.

-[×]-

I could hear faint mumbles in the distance as my vision began to blur. It was surreal; as if I were in another world. As my senses began to fade, my train of thought began to fade along with it. Time stopped, and I was trapped in a void filled with absolute nothingness.

How was long had I really been there?

What happened to my body?

I felt like I was floating in zero gravity; I felt connected with every particle in the atmosphere as if we were one and the same. Every breath I took eased me that much more into euphoria; I had absolutely no idea what was happening to me, but I felt at absolute peace, and I never wanted the feeling to end.

The faint, constant hum that resulted from the absence of outside noise calmed me. At first it scared me, but as time went on, it soothed me and made me feel safe. The security of this completely dark world was entrancing rather than fearsome, and I felt like I could just stay there for eternity.

Within this peace that I was experiencing, a sudden feeling of melancholy struck me. My skin at that moment felt cold; the atmosphere of my environment around me changing. I opened my eyes in the darkness; my feet suddenly tapping down onto the ground beneath me.

I turned my head and looked around; confusion and panic making my heart race.

Where was I? What was I doing here?

"Hello?" I called.

No answer.

I took a step forward; the sound of the step echoing after my call.

"Anyone?" I shouted.

No answer. The temperature around me dropped. I took more cautious steps forward.

What was going on here? How did I get here? I couldn't remember anything.

My distress greatened; a sensation of need and guilt overcoming me. There was something I had to do; something I was forgetting that was more important than who I was, or where I was. I held myself; the temperature decreasing rapidly. I kept walking forward in the pitch black abyss I was stuck in.

"Somebody… _anybody_ …. _please_?" I called.

Nothing.

I started crying.

I knelt down to the ground; shivering and sharply inhaling choked breaths from my tears.

A light breeze hit me from my right; caressing against my face and behind my neck. After a few more seconds of sobbing, I stood up, sniffled, and tried my best to pull myself together. I turned toward the direction of the draft—eyes still flooded with tears—and began to walk. I wiped my eyes, and blinked harshly.

A light.

All tears instantly vanished; all focus on the white light ahead.

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could toward that light; the atmosphere getting colder and colder with each heavy step.

As I ran toward that light, the more it stretched out in all directions. I felt like I was directly in front of it, yet still miles away from it—like I was running to a mountain yet never at the base.

As the last bit of darkness dissipated and the white, blinding light completely covered every inch of my vision; the cold was completely unbearable. I had absolutely no cover; not a single piece of clothing on me to keep me warm.

I shivered uncontrollably, cocking my head back and forth; looking for any sign of life.

"Anyone!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

An insane gust of wind immediately crashed against me in response.

I quickly held up a guard in turn; the wind spiraling and howling out of control. Wet particles in the wind slapped my pale skin suddenly, making me realize that it wasn't some strange hurricane I was in; it was a blizzard.

As the storm worsened, the more my mind wrapped around the prior forgotten responsibility.

There was something I was supposed to do.

There was somewhere I was supposed to be.

There was…

...someone I was supposed to...

" _Azumi!"_

My head snapped up at the sudden voice.

Memories rushed through my head like steam rushing out of a boiling teapot.

"Toushirou!" I shouted.

This blizzard, this feeling—it was all him.

He was the reason this was happening; Toushirou was in trouble.

A vortex ripped open in front of me; a view of the outside world displayed before me.

Toushirou and Aizen lingered in the sky; Toushirou visibly heaving and his form wavering. Aizen stood tall—completely unfazed it seemed—toying with Toushirou. I heard some type of verbal exchange between them, but couldn't make out the words. Toushirou slashed his Zanpakuto downward in what seemed like anger, and then brought it back up and held it with both hands—he was going to try to strike.

Before he could do so however, Aizen rose up his hand, and the most terrible feeling I had ever known struck me.

Aizen's next blow…

… _would kill Toushirou._

"No!" I screamed.

I lunged forward toward the portal; only one thing on my mind.

-[×]-

**Hitsugaya Toushirou**

"Why, Aizen; why did you have to do this?" I snarled the question.

We had momentarily paused; the two of us assessing each other.

Matsumoto was taken out immediately and was near death. Azumi was passed out on the ground as well; another body part chopped off and on the ground beside her as if it were a normal occurrence.

"Where is the sense in all this destruction? Killing all the people that cared about you, and for what—so that you can be king?" I shouted furiously.

No response; just a blank stare back at me.

I glanced down at Azumi and Matsumoto below and grit my teeth.

"You're not getting away with what you've done to them, Aizen! Even if I die, I'm going to make sure you rot in Hell with me!" I slashed my sword downward in fury before bringing it back up.

Aizen rose his hand up; his palm facing me.

Before Aizen or I even moved, I was whipped back by something I couldn't even see.

I flew back quite a way; the sudden sound of violent screaming filling the air.

I caught myself, and snapped myself back to Aizen.

_No…_

"Azumi!" I shouted.

Azumi did the unthinkable.

Azumi had herself wrapped around Aizen from behind in a choke-hold; all five of those dark tendrils she controlled pierced through him…and through herself.

Azumi's mask cracked off immediately—Aizen coughing up blood at the same time.

She quickly bit into his shoulder; completely giving it her all and leaving no opportunity to slip by.

Aizen quickly retaliated by punching her directly in her face; pushing her off with such force that the left over tendrils of darkness vanished, and she flew back from the force.

"Azumi!" I shouted.

I quickly flashed over to her; catching her before she hit the ground.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Kurosaki's shouted, coming out of nowhere back at Aizen.

I landed down on the ground; Azumi choking on her own blood and jerking around from her nerves completely giving out.

"Azumi! Stay with me! Breathe!" I shouted.

I was panicking.

She was going to die if I didn't do something.

Shakily, I set her on the ground and held her with one of my arms. I literally was on the verge of passing out myself, but adrenaline from the fear of losing her possessed me, and I gathered what little reiatsu I had left to try to heal her.

She started blinking rapidly; looking up at the sky.

"Azumi, look at me!" I told her.

I'd never been more scared in my life than at that moment.

My heart felt like it was going to burst from how hard it pounded; a lump formed in my throat from how scared I was that this was the end. She slowly focused on averting her gaze to me, and when she did, I couldn't help myself; tears began to form. She slowly cracked a smile; a weak, half smile that barely turned up a corner of her lips.

Her breathing steadied and her rapid blinking stopped.

"I-It's going to be okay, Azumi," I began, voice cracking with each word.

She wasn't going to be okay.

I lied to her…

I couldn't tell her the truth; I couldn't tell her that she was in such a critical condition above my healing abilities.

I couldn't tell her that it wasn't going to be okay—that I couldn't…

… _that I couldn't save her._

She slowly rose her hand up, and cradled my cheek.

Tears freely escaped my eyes at the contact; she gently and slowly caressed my cheek in an effort to wipe the tears.

"H-Hey," she breathed out.

I couldn't say anything; I couldn't do anything…

"T-T-Tou-shi-rou," She continued.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds before reopening them with every ounce of energy she had left.

She slowly pulled her hand back, and held it out in front of me.

She slowly pulled her lips back to show a small, toothy grin.

"S-S-Smi-le,"

She slowly curled her outstretched hand into a fist, and extended her pinky out to me.

I couldn't hold back an audible sob.

She knew this was it.

She knew that this was the end.

She wasn't going to survive this.

This was her way…

Shaking, I stopped the kido, and took hold of her pinky with my own.

I couldn't help but cringe in my frustration and sadness as soon as I took her hand. I broke eye contact and shut my eyes from the tears. I took a deep breath, and opened my eyes to look back at her. Her gaze hadn't faltered; she was still staring right back at me.

I took another breath, and mustered up the best smile I could in the situation. A small, forced, and cracked grin formed, and I was able to hold it for a few seconds.

Her cornered smile widened into a complete, toothy grin.

"K-Keep...s-s-mil-ing," She breathed out.

As her sentence finished, her eyes closed—that grin still dominating her features.

Her chest lifted slowly with an inhale, and upon the exhale, stayed down completely.

"A-Azumi!" I screamed.

The warm finger I desperately clung onto became cold; the rest of her body in my arms following suit.

Her pinky disintegrated in my hand; trailing up her arm.

"No! Azumi, you can't—!"

In an instant, the being that meant the most to me in mu life was gone; her very being disintegrating and blowing away with the wind.

She…

Azumi was…

…gone.


	55. Chapter 55

Dear readers,

This is the _official_ last chapter of **Translucent.**

I want to take a moment to thank all of you for all the support you've shown me throughout these past few months. It's thanks to all of you that I've decided to actually push myself into pursuing my dream of becoming a published writer, and you've all inspired me to keep myself motivated and to never give up. Reading your opinions throughout each chapter post has literally made my day each and every time, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Thanks again all of you, and I hope all of you take care. :)

Much love,

Vi

-[×]—[×]—[×]-

"Taiiichoooouuu! Come on now, why can't I just have a teensy-bit?"

"Because it's 10 in the morning, and you have work to do."

Matsumoto huffed and plopped onto the couch.

"That's no fair at all, Taichou. Why do we have to work today when everyone else is out there having a good time? You could at least make up for it by letting me drink just a little bit to ease my sorrows.."

"No is no, Matsumoto. I don't care what everyone else is doing; we have _a lot_ of work that we need to catch up on. There isn't any time for lolly-gagging." I responded.

She huffed again, and I could hear her crossing her arms before she replied.

"Fiiiiiine," She replied with an exhale.

Matsumoto sat up, stretched, then got up and walked over to the front of my desk.

"Okay Taichou; where do you want me to continue?" She asked me.

I pointed to the stack on the right corner of my desk with my pen, and got a sigh from her in response due to the size. She took a few steps over and placed her hand on top of the stack. She slid her hand over to the corner of it, and flipped the top pages with her thumb.

"Oh, _goody_ ," She whined.

I hated it when she did that.

What was so hard about doing her job?

It was all just filling out paperwork; it's easier than fighting off a Hollow or anything else we do. It shouldn't take her longer than an hour or two to complete that stack, but knowing her it was going to take her _all day._ I'd have to stay after hours _again_ to make up for it.

"Oh…this is…"

I waited for her to complete her sentence, but instead she inhaled deeply and started to straighten the stack.

What was she trying to say?

Her demeanor had changed in less than half a second; my curiosity got the better of me.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh..uhh…nothing," She quickly responded.

She took the stack in her arms and quickly turned around toward the door. I didn't stop writing, or even look up at her—I knew something was wrong; she was just trying to evade the topic. I normally didn't pry into anything about her life, or asked if there was anything wrong. I normally just let her handle herself, and only listened if it was what she requested.

Within the past few months, Matsumoto and I haven't talked about anything other than work, or what the others were up to. She hadn't said anything about her personal life, or if anything was bothering her.

So I went about my business as usual; going to work, eating, training, and sleeping. We were so far behind with everything that I haven't taken any time off in months. I've worked every single day—including days off—after hours, and haven't really talked to anyone.

As Matsumoto walked, I heard a few sniffles from her.

I shouldn't have done it, but I did.

"Matsumoto," I called.

She stopped mid-step, waiting for me to continue.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

A few seconds went by; my pen scraping against the paper the only sound in the room.

She took a short, sharp breath.

"This paperwork.." She breathed out.

She paused.

"I used to always give it _to her_ …"

I stopped writing mid-stroke.

I stared down at the word I was in the middle of writing; ink gathering at the tip, and leaking at the pressure I still put on the pen.

I tried so hard not to think about her.

Remembering what happened…remembering all the things that…

"Oh, I see." I cut off my own thoughts.

Matsumoto didn't say anything for another few moments—no doubt waiting for me to follow up with the statement. The sad part was that I _should_ have, but I just couldn't say anything about it. I could already feel the lump forming in my throat.

"So that's it then," Matsumoto muttered.

I didn't respond.

"So you don't care?" She asked.

I didn't respond.

She switched her stance to a sturdier one, as if she was getting ready to take something on. I didn't even have to look to know she was angry.

"So we're going to just pretend that she didn't exist?" She asked.

I didn't respond.

Matsumoto turned around to look at me; I continued writing.

"Say something!" She suddenly rose her voice at me.

I didn't say anything.

She walked back to my desk and slammed the papers back down.

"So this is how you recuperate from loss? You mindlessly just keep toiling away at paperwork? You don't take a day off in _months_ , you work _after hours_ and shut yourself out from everyone to ignore your problem altogether?" She asked me, a frantic anger in her tone.

I started writing again; still ignoring her.

I mentally wasn't ready for this.

I didn't want to have this conversation.

"Taichou!" She shouted.

I didn't even look up.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't stand here and pretend to be okay when I most certainly am not! And even more so; I _refuse_ to stand here and watch you like this! Taichou, you need to mourn before you can move on; you're just blatantly ignoring it!" She continued.

I grabbed another piece of paper and began filling it out.

"Hey!" She shouted, slamming her hand against the table.

I maintained a completely unfazed demeanor. I just couldn't—

"What were the last words she said to you, Taichou?" She asked, voice trembling with tears.

I stopped writing.

The moment I wanted to never remember again flashing through my mind.

" _What did she say_?" Matsumoto asked again forcefully.

I couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"What did you _promise her_ you would do?" She pressed.

I didn't say anything again.

"I asked you a question! What did you _promise her_ , Taichou?" She shouted, tears freely flowing down her cheeks.

I clenched my hands into fists to keep them from trembling. That horrible memory nipped away at my composure; I was going to lose my control if she kept going.

"Go join the others." I told her, taking another inhale to compose myself.

"Taic—!"

"I said leave and go have fun with the others." I snapped sternly, cutting her off.

I glared at her forcefully to remind her of her rank.

I knew that it was completely not acceptable behavior on my part, but I just couldn't talk about this. She was trying to be a friend rather than a subordinate; I understood that. However, I didn't want to deal with that right now, or ever for that matter. If I had to pull this card to get out of the conversation, then I wasn't going to hesitate.

My gaze didn't let up, and finally, after a few more seconds, she looked away. She inhaled deeply and turned away from me. She walked to the door, and opened it a crack; lingering for a moment.

"This isn't what she wanted, Taichou. This isn't what she wanted at all."

Matsumoto opened the door, stepped out, and slammed it shut behind her.

I took another deep breath; staring down at the paper in front of me like it was life or death. I had to focus on something other than _that;_ I'd lose myself to it if I allowed myself to think about it.

Pushing away those thoughts helped me move on.

I was the Taichou of Squad 10 in the Gotei 13; if I fall, my squad will have no one to turn to. I couldn't allow that to happen; we've already suffered enough with the Aizen ordeal. Now that Aizen has been captured and the Espada have been stopped, we can finally rebuild. We can rebuild our way of life, rebuild our society, reestablish our bonds with one another, and most importantly move on. If I let myself fall into despair, it would be one more thing to hinder that progress.

I knew all of this very well, and used it to keep me going, but, if I was honest with myself…

I was afraid to think about it.

The bigger picture was just a cover—a cover I didn't really even care about. It was merely a responsibility that was a part of my job; it wasn't the real reason holding me back.

The real reason was that I couldn't accept everything that happened. I couldn't accept that I did nothing; that I stood there and watched things play out.

I wasn't strong enough.

I didn't help.

I didn't do anything but let my emotions get the better of me.

I let the others down.

I let her down.

I-I..

…I let her…

"That's enough of that. You have work to do." I countered myself aloud.

I focused down at the paperwork in my hands and began trying to read what I wrote.

" **Master,"** Hyourinmaru called.

"Don't, Hyourinmaru." I firmly shot back aloud.

He ignored me and continued.

" **Master, please, listen for a mo—"**

"I said don't do it, Hyourinmaru." I interrupted again angrily.

He paused for a moment, then continued.

" **No, Master; I refuse."** He countered.

I was shocked to say the least. Hyourinmaru never shot back against a direct order.

" **Your subordinate is right; you need to mourn over your loss. Your health is deteriorating; mentally you are completely unstable. It's time you took step one in the healing process,"**

"I said no, Hyourinmaru. What part of my command are you not understanding? You know very well my reasoning; you're stuck inside my head, listening to all my thoughts. You should know better than anyone that I have good reason—"

" **Good reason? Master, it is because I** _ **know**_ **you better than anyone that I'm bringing it to your attention. You cannot continue on the way you have been. You need to seek the help of others; you need to let others in so you can—"**

"No. Never again. I'm not going to let anyone in _ever_ again. I can't. I can't d—"

" **Is that fulfilling the promise you made to her? Was this what she meant when she asked you to smile? Is that the reason Takashita Azumi gave up** _ **her life—"**_

" _Don't_!" I shouted, standing up and slamming my fists down on the desk.

"Don't you say _her_ name…"

And there it was.

The lump formed completely in my throat as I began to lose my composure; Hyourinmaru had done it now.

He didn't say anything; the silence that resulted after my outburst felt never-ending. In those brief, yet excruciatingly long seconds, every memory of her that I had repressed for the past 4 months had come back to me. Every giggle she made, every smile, every expression…

…and every tear she shed.

Tears formed in my eyes.

I was in deep; deep enough to know that I had to do something about it. I had to focus on something—anything.

I took a deep breath and picked up the papers on my desk. I sat back down and tried focusing on reading some of the documents.

It wasn't working.

It had to be something else, but I didn't know what. What else was I supposed to do? Paperwork had gotten me by all this time; but now I'm back at Square 1, and paperwork wasn't going to bring me out of this stage.

" **Master, I—"**

"You've done enough, Hyourinmaru; I don't want to hear from you any more today. You got what you wanted; now leave me alone." I said.

" **As you wish; please, take my word and the words of your companions to heart."** He said.

As soon as he finished the sentence, I didn't hear another word out of him.

I inhaled deeply, and shut my eyes tightly to try and will away the tears that formed. I opened my eyes and looked around the room; trying to see if there was something other than paperwork I could do in here. Of course there wasn't—this was an office after all. I straightened up the papers on my desk, and decided to actually leave.

I locked the door to my office and flash-stepped out of the building. I wanted to avoid seeing any of my subordinates; I needed to be my calm, collected self when talking to them, and I definitely was not either of those.

I flashed out of the office facilities and back to the barracks. I went into my house—pointedly avoiding looking toward the hallway of the spare room—and quickly changed out of my uniform. I couldn't stay at home either, so I decided to go get lost somewhere in the Rukongai. After I finished getting ready, I quickly locked up the place and left.

Once I was outside of the Seireitei, I began walking around in my old district. I walked down several of the 'shacks' the people lived in; continuously walking down and observing the area I once called 'home.'

Eventually, I subconsciously made my way to Obaa-san's home. I stood for a moment, staring at her front door.

Should I pay her a visit?

Was I mentally prepared to speak to anyone, let alone my Obaa-san?

She never really pried too much into my life, and knew that 'no' meant 'no.' I could get away with not talking to her about it, but the real question was: would I break down entirely in front of her about it?

Obaa-san raised me; next to Hinamori and Matsumoto, she was the most important person alive in my life. If anyone was to get through to me with anything, it would be her.

It was a gamble.

I crossed my arms, and looked down at the ground for a moment in debate.

"Shirou-chan,"

Too late.

There was no going back now.

I looked back up to see Obaa-san at the window, a smile on her face.

I quietly took in a deep breath.

"Hi, Obaa-san," I replied.

She ushered me into her home, and began to make some tea. I had her sit down while I finished preparing the reminiscent tea, and then joined her on the porch.

We talked about normal things; about how she had been, and how I was doing. I completely lied and told her I was doing fine—which angered me because I never lied to her. However, given the situation and her steadily deteriorating health; it was for the best that I avoided the topic.

A few hours had gone by, and the clouds had rolled in; spreading throughout every inch of the sky. There was a chilling breeze with the change in the sky, and so I stood up to try to take her inside.

"Obaa-san, it's getting cold; let's go inside." I suggested.

"No; I can't go inside yet," She replied.

I couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at her reply.

"Why not?" I asked.

"She hasn't returned," She immediately replied.

We hadn't talked about anyone beside ourselves and issues within the Seireitei for hours; she didn't mention anything about anyone else.

Just who was this 'she?' Did Obaa-san take in someone like she did with Hinamori and myself? The place looks like it's just her living here.

"Obaa-san, what do you mean? Who are you waiting for?" I prompted.

She readjusted herself slightly; seemingly worried about this girl she was still waiting on.

"Kenji-san and Elena-san have welcomed a young girl into their home; she often comes along with the two of them to help me around the house. You have met the two of them, haven't you?" She asked.

Of course.

Of course the hours of unnoticeable consoling I'd received from my visit with Obaa-san would burn up in flames in less than 5 seconds.

I didn't let my demeanor change—even though internally I felt like I was about to meltdown. I casually continued the conversation.

"Yes, I remember the two of them," I responded, my usual calm tone unnoticeably forced.

Thunder growled lowly in the background, and Obaa-san turned her gaze away from me and up to the sky.

"She came by earlier today and asked if I needed anything. I happen to be low on tea and a few other items, so she kindly went to the market in my place. She left around 10 minutes before you arrived; I'm worried about how much time has passed." She explained.

She turned back toward me; that worried expression of hers still spread across her features.

"It seems that it's going to rain; I'm worried about her." She continued.

Obaa-san placed her hands delicately beside her, and began getting up.

"Maybe something happened to her," She said, as she strained to rise from her seated position.

I took her arm gently, and helped her slowly back up. She turned toward the house, and slowly walked inside. She reached for something near the door, and came back out with it. She had an umbrella in her hand, and she slowly proceeded to open it.

"I'm so very happy you came to visit me today, Shirou-chan. You're more than welcome to stay as long as you'd like." She smiled briefly as she raised up her umbrella.

"Obaa-san, where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going to go find her; she doesn't have an umbrella with her," She replied.

"Obaa-san, you can't go out there; it's getting colder by the minute and its going to start raining. You'll get sick if you don't get inside." I protested.

As much as I didn't want to—it was for Obaa-san.

"Here," I took hold of the umbrella and took it from her.

"I'll go find her and bring her back. What does she look like, and what is her name?" I asked.

A warm smile spread across her face at my offer.

"Thank you, Shirou-chan; you're still so very sweet," She gleamed, placing her hand delicately over mine.

"She's a beautiful young girl with brown eyes and brown hair. She was wearing a yellow yukata today, and kept her katana tied to her sash on her backside." She explained.

Well, I most certainly wasn't expecting the katana part.

"Katana? Why does she have a katana?" I asked.

"I'm not sure; she has always carried one." She responded.

I let the subject pass, and continued on.

"Okay; it's a start. What is her name?" I asked.

Obaa-san let out a small laugh.

"I'm not sure of her true name; she insisted that it was unimportant. Kenji-san and Elena-san don't know either." She replied.

That was definitely strange.

The basic description of this unnamed girl brought an image of a certain someone to mind; it flashed through my head for a moment, and it took everything I had to will the thought away.

"What can I call her by as I search for her?" I asked.

"She brought me flowers when she first met me, so I've been calling her Hana. You can use this to find her." She told me.

"Thank you Obaa-san, I'll go look for her. Please go inside and wait for us; I don't want you out any longer in the cold." I urged.

"Hai, hai; thank you, Shirou-chan." She smiled and slightly bowed.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

I ushered her inside, and left toward the market place.

This girl sounded really odd.

The fact that she left her name out of the equation left me with an unsettling feeling. The katana she carried posed another problem; just how skilled was she with it? Had she ever used it before on anyone? Did it have anything to do with concealing her name?

The first drops of rain landed on my cheek. I opened the umbrella and continued walking as it began to worsen.

I arrived at the market place, and looked around. All the merchants began bringing the last remaining items on display outside into their shops, and the people on the streets were hurrying home.

I peeked inside of a few stores, but didn't see this girl that Obaa-san was so fond of. I kept walking down the strip, but still no sign of her at all. I knew that Obaa-san needed some tea, so I decided to check the tea shop she used to regularly send me to.

"Excuse me," I announced as I entered.

"Welcome! What can I help you with today?" The female shopkeeper greeted.

"I'm actually trying to find someone; has a young girl with brown hair and eyes wearing a yellow yukata stopped by today?" I asked.

The woman took a moment to think, and then finally had the moment of successful recollection.

"Ah, yes! There was a young girl here just a little while ago; she bought some tea quickly and then left." The woman answered.

Her face suddenly turned into a more serious expression, and she continued.

"Now that I think about it; there were two men that looked very suspicious. They had come in while she was paying for her tea, then when she left, the two of them promptly left also. They didn't even buy anything; I hope that nothing happened." She finished; her face now etched in worry.

"Which way did they go?" I asked promptly.

"They exited and went south from what it looked like…you don't think?" She trailed.

"Thanks!" I quickly shouted as I left.

This girl was probably attacked by two thieves. This wasn't the very worst district out there, but the fact still remains that when any type of weapon is displayed, someone is going to try to steal it. I flashed south down the main road, fear for this young girl's life now my priority. A few miles down; I saw two men on the side of the road—injured and bleeding.

"What happened here?" I asked them.

As they grunted, I inspected their wounds. One of them had a small, somewhat circular bruise on his face—clearly an attack with a sheathed katana. One of them had a black eye while the other had a bloody nose.

"We got jumped," one responded.

The two of these men were huge and brawny; it was highly unlikely that they would ever be 'jumped.' I decided to play stupid to get information out of them.

"Who's the culprit?" I asked.

They stalled before answering, and then reluctantly the other spoke up.

"There was a girl with a katana that came by to try to steal from us; we tried to defend ourselves, but with her skill, she was able to beat us. She must've been one of those damn Shinigami," He huffed.

Shinigami?

"I see; which way did she go?" I asked.

They pointed further down the road, and I promptly left.

The thought of her katana being a Zanpakuto had crossed my mind; I wouldn't be surprised if she was in the early stages of discovering she had abnormal reiatsu. Regardless, there was only one way to find out.

As I walked further down the path, there came a part where the tall, dead grass parted noticeably. It was too big for it to be any type of animal; it had to either be a person, or an abnormally small Hollow.

For some reason, my gut told me to follow this path. It was strange; one would think that any person would stray away from a path like this—especially when it was about to rain—but something told me that someone recently trekked through here.

At the decision to walk down this path that led into the forest, a strange feeling overcame me. I couldn't tell what it was, but I hadn't felt this way in a long time. The last time I felt this way, was because I was hoping for…

I shut the thought out before I even finished it; I had to close it off before I lost myself. I took a deep breath, and walked down the path.

As I continued to walk, footsteps appeared on the pathway; looking like they were freshly imprinted. I was right; someone had just walked through here. The path went on quite a ways; my curiosity and unsettling feeling kept me moving forward.

Finally, I arrived at the end of the path; a tree directly in front of me. Tucked away under an uprooted part of the tree were a few bags covered just barely with a small cloth. I uncovered it to see a variety of items; tea and other items one might keep in their home.

It was absolutely clear that this was the bag of the girl I'd been looking for. But where was she?

I looked around, and saw no one.

"Hana!" I shouted in case.

Nothing.

I tried to determine which direction she would've gone. It didn't seem like she was being chased or put in a position of fight or flight; the delicate placement of the items under the tree told me that much. I left the umbrella at the base of the tree since I was already soaked, and walked into the tall grass that bordered the path.

Suddenly, a slight spike of reiatsu made its presence known. My head snapped in the direction it came from, and I immediately went toward it. As I flashed toward the last trace of that reiatsu, I couldn't help but feel as if I'd felt it before. It felt like it was…

No.

That's impossible.

She's gone.

I shook my head again for what seemed like the 20th time today. She was gone—I accepted that.

But somehow…

…a part of me…

I finally arrived at where the source of the reiatsu was. The forest had cleared for the most part, and large boulders were now scattered about alongside the mountain's base. I looked around and still didn't see her. I felt like I was on such a wild goose chase; what if it wasn't even her, and she was already back with Obaa-san?

I'm such a fool.

Hyourinmaru didn't even have to chime in to tell me the real reason I came out here; he didn't have to tell me the real reason I would wander to the middle of an uninhabited forest in the middle of a storm.

I scoffed at myself, and turned back around toward where I'd came from.

Right before my first flash step, a sound stopped me in my tracks.

" _Ah-choo!"_

A sneeze?

I snapped my head back toward the sound, and as I did, a demonic, ear-piercing screech came from above.

I looked up to see something that couldn't be true.

An owl spiraled down from the sky; dive bombing behind one of the boulders.

The sound of clanking metal erupted immediately, followed by sharp gasping from what seemed like a female.

It couldn't be…

I flash-stepped to the boulder; heart racing and adrenaline pumping. I stopped a distance off from the boulder; taking in the scene in front of me.

There was a girl on the ground; chest heaving up and down as the rain fell upon her. A bright glow erupted beside her; the owl next to her retreating into the shape of a katana beside her.

She took the katana and began to prop herself up, and then…

She made eye contact with me.

I stared into her; she stared into me.

The rain stood still, the concept of time completely stopping in the instant we laid eyes on each other.

She got up, her body soaked to the bones; her longer, brown, wet hair parted and laid against both sides of her chest.

Her facial expression was a shocked one; on the verge of frowning from overwhelming emotion.

"T-Toushi-rou; y-you're alive…it's really y-you!" She stuttered.

I threw away all caution and abandoned every rational thought. No explanation mattered; the only thing in the world that mattered at that moment, was the drenched female in the yellow yukata directly ahead.

"A-Azumi!"

I ran to her.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me with every fiber of my being. She gripped onto me—her body shaking against mine.

I cried.

I cried just as much as when she died.

She cried with me; the two of us mirroring the rain the fell around us.

"Toushirou, I-I can't believe you're alive…and I can't believe you found me," She whimpered.

I quickly wiped my tears and pushed her back to look into her face. I moved her wet hair away from her beautiful face, and held her head in my hands.

"Azumi," I muttered in between my own gasps.

"Y-You're alive; it's r-really you," I stuttered.

"I'm so sorry," I whimpered, breaking eye contact for a moment in frustration.

"I-I'm sorry I let you down, I didn't save you; I didn't—"

She put those delicate hands I missed so much around my face, and looked me directly in the eye, those gentle, brown orbs staring into my broken soul.

"Toushirou, it's okay; its all over now. I'm here, and I'm alive—you _did_ save me," She cooed.

I put my head down against her and wept.

It wasn't okay; everything that I let happen was not okay. I didn't deserve to live; I completely hated myself for it. I lied to her, I couldn't protect her—

"Hey," She whispered, moving just next to my ear.

"I love you, Toushirou,"

Those words…they shook me to my very core; I needed to hear them, I needed to hear them from _her_ …

She squeezed me tightly, and kissed the side of my head.

"You came for me—that's all that matters. I'll always be with you; no matter what," She cooed.

I pulled myself back and stared into her eyes. Even though she was crying along with me, her eyes were warm and calming; with just a look, I could tell she meant her words in every way. She lightly placed her hand against my cheek, and I kissed her flushed ones in return along with her forehead, her nose, her chin. I took in absolutely every part of her, and let it begin to soothe the deep hurt and hatred within me.

I pulled back, and looked at her smiling face; that toothy grin of hers I longed to see for such a long time now physically in front of me, happening; not just a memory.

"Azumi, I love you, and I will always be by your side," I responded.

I couldn't hold myself back any longer.

I kissed her.

Kissed the lips of the girl that was the most important being in my universe; the one I never wanted to spend another minute without; the one I loved.

She pulled back from the kiss, and gently placed a small peck on my lips before nuzzling herself in my arms again.

"I've missed you so much! I-I'm so happy you're alive!" She giggled and sniffled as she pulled me in with all her strength.

I kissed the top of her head again, and held her tightly.

"I'm here, Azumi, and I will never let you go,"

I looked up at the grey, clouded sky, and remembered the first time I had ever met her.

It was raining just as it is now.

The rain brought the most important person in the world to me then—now it brought her back to me again. For the second time, it brought the most beautiful, and caring person in the world to me.

I closed my eyes.

I let the rain drop down onto my cheeks.

All my sorrows…

All my pain…

All my sins…

 _Everything_ …

Was now being washed away.

All that remained was the girl standing before me.

The girl that I cherished the most, the girl that I cared about the most; the girl that I…

She moved slightly, and I looked back down at her. She smiled up at me, and closed her eyes; that small smile she wore warming my entire being in just one moment.

Takashita Azumi—the girl I cradled in my arms…

I pulled her close, and pressed her against me.

"Azumi…"

I squeezed her tightly.

"You are my everything."

-[×]—[×]—[×]-

One more thing, readers…

PSYCHE!

STAY TUNED FOR THE BONUS CHAPTER TOMORROW! ;D


	56. Chapter 56

_Love Mugen, R.I.P. Nujabes – Kyo Itachi_

-[×]—[×]—[×]-

"This is so exciting!"

"Do I really have to partake in this?"

"Hey! I don't wanna hear any 'and's, if's, or but's'; you promised!"

He huffed, and crossed his arms in an annoyed pout.

"Oi! Stop fighting it and just do it; it's not all _that_ bad!"

"Yeah, Baldy's right! I wanna play fetch!"

"I've told you not to call me that!"

**Smack.**

"But you are bald, _Baldy_!" She giggled after audibly smacking Ikkaku's head.

"Oh man…Yachi, you're killing me…stop…the laughter…it hurts!" I cackled.

"There!" Rangiku giggled and backed away from a grunting Toushirou.

"Oh my God…yes!" I chuckled and high-five Rangiku.

"Oi! Don't laugh at me!" Toushirou crossed his arms in a pout.

"Yachi wants candy! How much longer, Azu-nee?" Yachi interrupted.

"Yachiru-chan, try to be just a little more patient; Takashita-san is almost done." Hinamori tried to coo the little girl.

"Hurry up and let Azu-nee finish your costume, Shirou-Taicho!" Yachi ordered.

I couldn't help but snicker as I fixed Toushirou's shirt. Right before Toushirou could make his rebuttal, I interrupted.

"Yachi, don't call him that; you know he doesn't like that… _even though it's cute._ "

I forced back another snicker while Toushirou mad-dogged me—or should I say mad-wolfed? _Ba dum diss!_

"Okay okay, you're finished! It isn't quite like how I dreamt, but this has the 'big-bad-wolf' feel, so it's just as good!" I grinned.

"'Big-bad-wolf' feel? What does that imply?" Toushirou quickly asked with a slight blush.

I giggled. "You match Yachi is what I'm saying," I pointed to the small girl by my side.

"She's wearing a white dress with a red cloak; how do I match what she's wearing? I have dog ears!" Toushirou fought back—I laughed.

"She's Little Red Riding Hood, and you're the Big Bad Wolf! That's why!" I grinned.

"Is that reference to another folklore of the World of the Living, Takashita-san?" Hinamori asked; a bright curiosity sweeping her features.

"Yup! That's right! I'll tell you guys all about it later; is everybody ready for this?" I asked, looking around.

"Hai hai!" Yachi answered for everyone ecstatically.

It was really happening—we were finally going Trick or Treating! Words couldn't even describe just how stoked I was for this! I'd never been trick or treating in a group like this before; we're gonna get such a good haul!

I looked around at everyone with a huge grin on my face; everyone's costumes looked so cool I could hardly contain myself.

Staring with the pink-haired bundle of energy; she wore a ruffled, spaghetti-strapped, white dress that fell down in a poofy fashion to her knees, and black flat shoes with white princess socks. She wore a red, hooded cloak that tied together in a bow along her collarbone, and had a picnic basket that doubled as her candy lantern to complete the look. All I wanted to do was take pictures of her and her damn cuteness!

Hinamori decided on a cute maid outfit that met the classic black and white criteria, but also was just a teensy-bit scandalous—as per Rangiku's preference. The black dress and frilly apron ran down just to her mid thigh, while black stockings and boots met them just a little below her knees. Her torso was pulled tight with a white, laced corset that complimented her figure even more, while also pushing up the goods—Rangiku's approval definitely met. She also wore her hair down which looked really good on her to be honest; I'd only ever seen her hair up in a bun, so it was nice to see it down.

Speaking of Rangiku, she decided on a costume completely unlike the one I dreamt her in; she decided to be a sexy version of the Queen of Hearts. Her dress was a felt black fabric with a very short cut that had layers of white tulle petticoat underneath. The fabric that laid over the skirt part was primarily white lace, but had red hearts laced throughout it. The black dress continued upward with a red ribbon that tied together the front; revealing a line of Rangiku's torso along with her cleavage of course. She wore a black collar that had that same felt-black fabric from her dress along with white lace and red ribbon that tied together in a bow. She wore red heels and white stockings that went up to her mid thigh before connecting to the garter she wore under her dress. Finally to complete the look, she wore a small black and red crown on the top of her head, tilted to the side. All in all, Rangiku looked _fine as helllll—and yes I was a little jealous._

Next up was Ikkaku who decided to go classic with Kabuki face paint and apparel. He probably just wanted to carry around his wooden sword in all honesty, but hey, the costume looked good on him.

Shockingly enough, Yumichicka decided to be a pirate. He wore tight white pants with black leather boots and straps, along with a tailed English-looking coat that was a subtle burgundy color with gold buttons. He had a fake sword hanging from his side, and a black leather hat with a 'beautiful' red feather sticking out of it. I'm sure he chose the costume solely for the feather in the hat, but I digress. He looked awesome and that's all that mattered.

Renji decided to be a mobster even though he had no idea what that even was. He wore a black pin striped suit with a white undershirt that was unbuttoned near the collar. Around his neck hung a gold chain and his wrist had a gold watch to match as well. He completed his outfit with a smooth-looking black hat and his hair in a low pony tail that fell over his shoulder and down his chest.

Toushirou's outfit was fairly simple, but still met criteria of the 'big bad wolf' look. I didn't want him to go over what he was comfortable with—and let me tell you, he seriously didn't want to dress up at all—so I kept it somewhat light. He wore fitted black pants with black laced boots, and a dark red, hooded flannel with black patterns throughout it. Some of the flannel was tucked while other parts hung loosely, and there were tears, claw marks, fake blood, and dirt stains through the entire outfit. His hair was in a messier fashion than usual, and on his head were a pair of white wolf ears that blended in fabulously. To complete the look, we strapped on a white wolf tail through his belt loops and with the flannel hanging loosely from the back, it looked like it was actually real.

I liked the subtle look that this costume had on him; if he would've actually looked as he had in my dream he'd be too embarrassed and I don't think I'd be able to stop giggling like a school girl. It kinda reminded me of a modern day werewolf more than the 'big bad wolf,' which to be honest just sounds waaaay cooler.

Lastly, there was my outfit.

Keeping true to my dream; I dressed up as a ninja. Rangiku definitely had a little bit of control over this one since she just loved playing dress up. I wore a black one-piece outfit very similar to a romper, but fitted to accentuate my features. I decided to go with dark red as my secondary color—since almost everyone was wearing some type of red—so I had my sash, leg pouch, arm and leg wraps all that color. The sash was long and hung down to my knees from the knot it was tied in on my backside. The one-piece was sleeveless and cut down my chest in a V-neck cut that Rangiku absolutely loved—of course—and cut off on my thighs as shorts. My leg and arm wraps came up to my elbows and knees, and I wore black flats for my 'ninja shoes.' I had my makeup done with red lipstick to match, and put my hair up with one chopstick for added 'edge.'

Although the outfit was a little scandalous, I actually really liked it; I felt like I was a super stylish member of Squad 2. Soi Fon would definitely _not_ get a kick outta that, but Yoruichi sure as Hell would!

"So where are we meeting everyone?" I asked.

Rangiku turned to me, fiddling with a Queen playing card as she replied.

"They should all be at Orihime-chan's apartment by now—it was a bit of short notice, but they should all be ready to go!" She grinned.

"Perfect! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces," I smirked.

"A-zu-nee. Yachi's hungry!" the hooded girl pouted.

"Okay, okay! Lead the way, Captain Yumichicka!" I said in English with a giggle.

He unsheathed his fake sword from his hip and marched forward—talk about getting into character!

"Onward!" he announced, opening the front door and proceeding outside.

Yachi jumped around excitedly, and grabbed Hinamori's hand as she darted outside behind him. Rangiku laughed as she followed with Ikkaku and Renji behind them.

I looked back at my own personal wolf-man; reaching for his hand.

"Ready?" I asked softly, as I smiled up at him.

The embarrassed wolf huffed, and took a deep breath before seizing my reaching hand.

"Yeah, I'm ready." He replied, doing his best to display a small smile.

I pulled him into me, and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you for doing this; you make me so happy," I nuzzled up against him.

"I'd do anything to see you happy, Azumi," he replied softly into my ear.

He put his hand against the side of my face, motioning me to pull back so he could look at my face. I couldn't help but blush as he studied me, and he smiled at my reaction. Without any hesitation, he leaned in for a kiss; that dominant nature of his never ceasing to frazzle me.

"Hey! You're going to mess up her lipstick, Taichou!" Rangiku shouted at us.

I embarrassingly pulled back, my blush ever apparent on my face. Toushirou didn't make any effort in letting me go; ever since our relationship became acceptable to the Soul Society, he became braver and braver with public displays of affection. I however was still incredibly shy about the whole situation and panicked around everyone aside from Rangiku.

"It isn't messed up at a—"

"Oi! Hurry up lovey-dovey-birds!" Yachi interrupted him.

I giggled and grudgingly pushed myself out of the grasp I just couldn't get enough of.

"Come on! There's candy to be eaten!" I grinned as I pulled Toushirou's hand.

He smiled back at me, and let me pull him out the door.

-[×]-

"Trick or Treat!" Yachi, Hinamori, Rangiku and I shouted as the front door of Orihime's apartment opened.

The three faces inside completely shifted to shock and excitement upon setting their lines of vision on me.

"Azumi-chan!" Orihime shouted as she tackled me to the ground.

"You're alive!" Rukia and Kurosaki both shouted with grins on their faces.

Tears and choked out sobs from the busty-girl on top of me sounded loudly.

"I'm so happy you're alive, Azumi-chan!" Orihime choked out.

"Me too!" I grinned and squeezed the girl with all my might.

"I missed you guys so much; I'm so glad that everyone is okay, and that you guys are here!" I squealed as I poked the emotional female holding me.

"I can't believe _you're_ here, Takashita! How did you survive? Toushirou said that—"

" _Hitsugaya-Taichou,_ Kurosaki," Toushirou corrected.

Kurosaki grimaced and I just couldn't help but laugh. I pushed Orihime up to a sitting position with me, and I wiped the tears off her face as I grinned up at her.

"I'll explain everything when we get to Urahara's so that I don't have to repeat myself. So let's go you guys! Yachi and I need to add more candy to the haul!" I laughed.

I took Orihime's hand and hoisted the two of us up before Rukia seized me next.

"It's good to have you back," Rukia said as she planted the hug on me. I hugged her back with a quick squeeze before letting her go to look at her.

"It feels good to _be back_." I smiled.

I looked over at Kurosaki; a small hint of a smile on his face when he looked back at me. I walked over to him, and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I heard what happened," I paused, staring up at him briefly before throwing on a casual smirk. "Good job, and thank you, Kurosaki," I held my fist up to him.

I knew what he must of felt like now, but I tried to keep things on a lighter note rather than dwelling on something unfortunate. He didn't let his smirk falter for even a second; he struck his fist lightly against mine.

"Yeah," he breathed, lacking to think up of a response that wouldn't be self-praising.

"You look great, Orihime-chan!" Rangiku broke through Kurosaki and I's exchange.

"O-Oh, you think so?" Orihime responded.

I took a moment to inspect the three of them, seeing that aside from Orihime's witch costume, Rukia was a vampire, and Kurosaki was a baseball player.

Yachi tugged on my sash, and I couldn't inspect any further.

"When can I start eating some of these yummy human treats?" She whined.

"You have to wait until the end of the night!" I said matter-of-factly with my arms crossed.

She pouted and turned on her heel with an added "umph" for emphasis. I smirked with my sudden thought, and bent down to whisper in her ear.

"If you give Ikkaku a hard time tonight, I'll let you have 1 candy here and now," I whispered in her ear.

Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull as she reached into her basket and pulled out a candy bar.

"Hai, hai!" She sang before taking a huge bite.

I snickered and looked up at Toushirou, who was looking up at the orange sky lost in thought. I walked over to him, and looped my arm through his.

"Come on guys, let's go!" I called.

-[x]-

"Oi! Quit trying to touch my face paint!" Ikkaku shouted at Yachi.

True to her word, she kept hassling Ikkaku throughout the evening. It was too hilarious just to watch his frustration escalate again and again; Rangiku and I snickered as we watched each and every encounter unfold.

As we all sat down in Urahara's house, Urahara couldn't be more ecstatic that all of us were there. He hadn't had this many people in his home for months, and things were starting to get "boring" according to him. He and Yoruichi were both as excited as the rest were about my survival, and Urahara couldn't help but hug me—much to Toushirou's dismay.

Once we'd all settled down and began to eat our candy—I shared my stash with Urahara since he apparently had a thing for candy—he asked me to explain what happened.

"Well, when I came to, I was laying on my back in the middle of a field. I sat up and looked around, seeing no one around at all. I honestly had no idea where I was, or what was happening—I remembered what happened, but I was so confused that I was even alive. There was a sheathed katana beside me, and so I took it as I wandered through the field. After several hours of wading through the tall grass, I finally found a dirt road, and ran down it as fast as I could. As I approached a nearby town, I started to see similarities from the one time I was in the Rukongai. It was then that it finally clicked that I was in the Soul Society."

"Immediately, I found the nearest person, and asked him exactly where we were. He said that we were in Junrinan, the 1st district of West Rukongai. I asked him how to get to the Seireitei, and once he gave me directions, I ran off toward it. He shouted that I wouldn't get in, and that if I should fail to come back to stay with him. And he was absolutely right—I couldn't get in no matter how hard I tried. I literally lined the wall for days until I finally gave up. I decided that maybe if I went back like the man said, that I could ask about a better way of getting in."

"When I traveled back, I couldn't find any trace of the man—of course. So I just wandered for a while, trying to talk to people and get information on how to get into the Seireitei. Finding food was probably the hardest thing to do, but luckily I was able to find a river and catch some fish. A few weeks passed of just wandering and asking questions, until one day at the marketplace I asked the wrong person. The guy I approached thought I was trying to haggle him, and ended up pushing me over a wagon in the middle of the street. I was so angry that I got up to punch him in the face, but before I could do that, an all too familiar person did it for me instead—my Dad from the World of the Living. I immediately turned into a sobbing wreck just looking at him, and on cue with my tears, my Mom surprised me at my side, trying to calm me down. Words can't even describe just how happy I was that day." I smiled more to myself than the group.

"They took me in with almost zero hesitation, and it was almost like we were back home at my house a few blocks away from here. On the first day, I decided to take precautions since Toushriou told me they lost their memories. I was trying to think up of a new name, but before I could do that I accidently made an old reference from when we all were still alive. It caused the two of them to pause and just stare at me for a moment. They looked as if their heads hurt from my words, so I decided that I had to be cautious about anything related to our past, and to just start over new for their sakes. I continued with my main objective, and asked them just how to get into the Seireitei. They said they didn't know anything, but that a few months ago, a Shinigami had come to visit a friend of theirs. I came to find out that this friend was Toushirou and Hinamori's Obaa-san. I'd thought that maybe they'd moved on somewhere else rather than staying in the same place, but luckily I was wrong. So I decided that I'd stay with them, and hoped that one day either Toushirou or Hinamori would come to visit their Obaa-san. Toushirou literally found me only two days ago." I explained.

"That's amazing," Urahara commented.

"I can't believe that you were able to find your parents, Azumi-chan! That's wonderful news!" Orihime smiled brightly.

"Right? What luck! I'm seriously just lucky to even be alive, _and_ I found my parents? I nearly died again from the amount of happiness that surged through me." I grinned back at her.

"I'm glad that my experiment worked," Urahara interjected in our conversation.

I turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

Urahara opened his fan, and started fanning himself as he explained.

"When you first told me about yourself, I was concerned about what would happen to you if the Soul Society ever found out about you. I started experimenting on Soul conversion immediately, and luckily was able to whip something up right when you decided to tell Hitsugaya-Taichou. Remember that needle?" He stared into me, awaiting my response.

The realization hit me over the head like a baseball bat. I stood up from how shocked I was that I hadn't put that together earlier.

"So that—that time that you— _that_ was _that_?" I struggled.

"Japanese, Azumi-chan!" Rangiku giggled.

"Right before we left from here that morning when I confessed, Urahara and Yoruichi had me go into Urahara's lab. Yoruichi held me down while Urahara shoved a needle up my neck,"

"You did what?" Toushirou glared at Urahara, who in turned laughed.

"So then that stuff you injected into me…"

"Was my Soul converter, yes." Urahara grinned. "It only had a 50/50 chance at working since it hadn't been tested on a live subject, but I figured that it was then or never. I programmed it to react the moment your life force became critical. As soon as the requirement is met, it's similar to a light switch. It converts the soul, and then immediately performs a Konso to send the new Soul to the Soul Society. Nifty isn't it? After the Aizen incident finally came to an end and everyone recuperated, Yoruichi-san began to search for you throughout the Rukongai."

I looked over at Yoruichi who grinned and scratched her head.

"I looked everywhere for you, but I couldn't even feel out your reiatsu. I'm assuming you were pretty weak at first, am I right?" She asked.

"Indeed. My reiatsu was, and still isn't as strong as it used to be. It took me a good amount of time to start to learn how to manipulate and control it again. Even Yoru took forever to talk to me."

"Yoru no Shedo?" Urahara asked.

I nodded with a smile.

"Yup! Turns out that she reincarnated with me, but in the form of a Zanpakuto rather than her earrings. I recently was able to achieve Shikai, and when I did, Yoru manifested with it. I nearly broke all her bones with how hard I hugged her." I chuckled sheepishly.

"That's very interesting; definitely unexpected!" Urahara grinned with widened eyes. "And what about your Hollow alter-ego?"

"Imuza is definitely still present. At first I couldn't really sense her either, but slowly as I progressed and started to recuperate, she came back. I guess I'm pretty much like Kurosaki exactly, but I'm already dead." I smirked and looked at the baseball player; he shook his head with his usual scowl as Urahara continued.

"On a more, _grave note_ , I heard about what Hajime Saito did to you in Hueco Mundo." Urahara looked directly at my stomach. I didn't need to be a rocket-scientist to figure out what he was going to ask.

"It's gone." I immediately responded before he could ask. "When I woke up, there wasn't any pain, or any sign of it at all. It must've not worked for it." I explained, my demeanor saddening as I placed my hand over my stomach.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that,"

"No, it's okay. It's fine." I said, moreover to myself than to him as I sat down beside Toushirou.

Toushirou lightly placed his hand on my leg.

While I was happy that I wasn't hosting a child product of rape culture, at the same time I was definitely still sad about it. I'm sure that even though it would've been hard, that child would've been a good one if raised right—and you're damn sure that he would've been raised right. Although his life was very short, the loss of it still left an unpleasant feeling with me.

Sensing my uncomfortable aura, Urahara continued.

"So, moving on, what has the Soul Society decided to do with you? Obviously you're still able be near all of our friends," Urahara motioned around the room.

I smiled to ease the tension and replied.

"The Soutaichou accepted me into the Seireitei since I helped—even though I caused more trouble than anything—during the final battle. He said that I'm allowed to stay in the Seireitei under the condition that I become a full-fledged Shinigami starting from square one. I start the Academy on Monday." I grinned.

Urahara snapped his fan shut.

"That's wonderful news, Azumi-chan!" he grinned with me.

"Right?" I squealed.

"Well, I for one am completely ecstatic about the outcome of everything; the realms are at peace, and we were able to save you and everyone else, Azumi-chan. This calls for a celebration! Tessai-san!"

Tessai on cue plunked two huge Sake bottles on the table, and half of our group cheered in excitement.

"I'll bring food momentarily, please enjoy this in the meantime," Tessai announced before he turned away toward the kitchen.

As the group erupted into an excited frenzy of the festivities that were about to ensue, I got up and launched myself at Urahara. He returned my hug, and I pulled back to look up at him.

"How can I ever thank you for what you've done?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes and ready to spill down my cheeks.

Urahara smiled and patted my head.

"Just the biggest smile you can muster will suffice," he chuckled.

Immediately, I donned the biggest, goofiest, toothiest smile the world had ever seen, and shot it up at him.

He couldn't help but laugh at my face.

"There's the cute little Azumi-chan we all know and love!" he grinned, as everyone cheered.

Yoruichi was by my side, and rested her hand on my head.

"I'm glad you're back, kiddo; I've missed you," she half-smiled.

I hugged her next, doing my absolute best to hold back the tears as I embraced my Sensei.

"Thank you so much, Yoruichi; I don't know where I'd be without you," I told her as I tightened my hug.

"Thank you for being the brave, and strong woman I know you are," she replied.

I let her go, and bowed with that huge smile still on my face. I took a quick breath and excused myself out of the room. The tears for what they had done for me were completely set in motion, and I didn't want to dampen the other's fun because of them.

I sat down on the front porch, and looked up to the sky; the moon had slowly started making its way up as the sky faded from purple to dark blue. I never thought I'd be sitting here on this porch again, and I never thought that I'd get to see the moon from the World of the Living either—it was like a dream.

Arms settled on my shoulders, hands hanging loosely together in front of me as a pair of lips kissed the top of my head. I reached up and cradled both hands with both of my own, as I hunched forward to let my tears fall to my lap. Slowly, he retracted his hands and sat down next to me; placing one arm around my back and to my opposite shoulder to pull me into him. I accepted the gesture, and rested my head in the crook of his neck as I wiped my face and tried to contain myself.

A few moments filled with the sound of my sniffling passed, and he let out a small chuckle. It was bait—he wanted me to ask the infamous question.

"W-What so funny?" I mumbled, biting that bait like the sorriest fish in the pond.

"I was just remembering something you once told me; I proved you wrong then, and now it's happened again." He placed his free hand on top of my right hand resting in my lap; gently feeling my skin with his thumb.

"Which time?" I asked, a small smile trying to creep up on my face.

"It was the night we celebrated your birthday; you felt like your friendship with everyone was a _'fleeting sensation.'_ But look at you now; all the friends that are back inside—you're quite the lucky one," he cooed.

The small smile spread into a larger one as I remembered that night. That night had meant so much to me. All the things Toushirou said to me, all the things the others did for me; I couldn't be anymore happier.

"I don't think I'll ever forget the blush spread across your cheeks that night; you were too cute with how flustered you were,"

"O-Oi! Don't make fun of me, meanie!" I giggled and pushed against him in a playful pout.

"All right, all right, I'll stop," he said as he pulled me closer.

"You're right Toushirou; it's twice you and everyone have proven me wrong." I sniffled again.

I took a deep breath and wiped my face—a ditch effort to stop myself from letting my emotions get the better of me.

"Just remember that everyone in there values you. You are irreplaceable to them, and irreplaceable to me." He rubbed my arm, before gently squeezing it.

"I'll never forget it!" I grinned, and leaned forward to look at him. "I couldn't be more blessed," I smiled. I turned my body and pulled him to me in a hug. I squeezed him and took a deep breath.

"Come on, let's get back; everyone wants to celebrate," he told me.

I nodded, and pulled back out of the embrace, quickly pecking his cheek with my lips.

"You're right—let's celebrate! Wanna play truth or dare like that one time?" I smirked.

"Only if it's you and I, and it involves only dares." He responded with his own smirk.

"Add a bottle of sake to that, and I'm sure Rangiku can make it happen," I chuckled.

"Oi! Azumi-chan! Taichou! Where'd you guys go?"

"Speak of the Devil," I giggled.

Toushirou got up and outstretched his hand to me. I took it, and let him lead me back inside; the celebration officially beginning as we shut the front door behind us.

-[×]-

Several hours went by, and at around midnight all of us ditched the gigais and returned back to the Soul Society; some of us pulling a Cinderella and losing our shoes along the way— _Rangiku, cough!_

Once we passed through the Senkaimon, the members of the 11th Division bid us their farewells so they could escort Yachi back to Zaraki-Taichou. Renji decided to walk Hinamori back to her barracks, and the 10th Squad Taichou and his Fukutaichou walked back with me to _our_ barracks.

Rangiku wanted to keep drinking, but I convinced her to go home for the night because she was far too wasted to continue. The shindig at Urahara's was probably the hardest I've seen the others party yet. I wisely decided to not drink, but that didn't stop me from stuffing myself with food and candy with Yachi by my side. Everyone had such a great time; I really cherished these moments together with everyone.

We arrived at Rangiku's front door, and I steadied her as Toushirou took her keys and tried to determine which of them unlocked her door.

"D-Did you have fun tonight Azumi-chan?" Rangiku asked me in her slurred drunken stupor.

"Of course I did! Did you have fun?" I asked back.

"You betcha!" She shouted as she pumped her fist.

"Rangiku! Shh!" I giggled as I brought her fist back down.

Rangiku slithered her hand out of my grasp, and pulled me into her for one of her infamous death hugs—it had been a while since I'd had one, and I was completely ecstatic even though it hurt.

"R-Rangiku! My windpipes!" I coughed a giggle.

"Azumi-chan,"

"Hm?"

She let up on the hug, and held me as lightly as a drunk person could.

"You make me so happy; I'm glad that you're back with us now," she took a moment to breathe. "You're my best friend—please don't leave me again,"

My eyes widened, and I immediately hugged her tightly.

"Never, _ever._ I'll always be here for you; you are—and always will be—my best friend," I replied to her.

She giggled and I could tell that she was almost brought to tears as much as I was. She pushed me back, and grinned.

"What is it that the humans do?" She held up her hand and stared at it.

She studied her right hand, and started folding some of her fingers down into her palm. Once she was two fingers in, a spark of recognition lit her features, and she stuck out her pinky toward me.

I couldn't help but belly laugh.

I seized her pinky with my own, and shook it.

"It's a pinky promise! You're really something else, you know that?" I chuckled.

"You know it!" Rangiku winked.

Toushirou had the door opened, and he cleared his throat to signal her to go inside. Rangiku and I released each other's pinkies, and she turned on her heel toward her door.

"Goodnight my two lovebirds!" She practically shouted.

"Oi!" we both said in unison as she shut the door on us.

I giggled and turned toward Toushirou, who extended his arm so I could loop mine through it as we walked. I took a deep breath as I rested my free hand on his forearm. I still couldn't believe that everything turned out the way it did; how thankful I was for everything and everyone—I couldn't get over the fact that I was going to be here with all of them again. Two days ago, I was still out in the Rukongai dreaming of the day that I'd be reunited with everyone, and now here I am; amidst the presence of those I cared about.

Toushirou took out his keys from his pants pocket, and quickly inserted it into the lock.

"Did you have fun tonight?" He asked as he opened the door.

"Of course!" I responded.

Toushirou reached for the door handle, and opened the door slowly. He ushered me inside before him, and flicked the light switch.

I took in his home, remembering all the times he and I shared here and how much I missed being here with him. It smelled like him—the scent that made me close my eyes and turn up the corners of my lips, the scent that warmed my heart and eased my soul, the scent I loved the most.

His arms wrapped around my hips as he closed the distance behind me. His chin rested behind my head, as I set my hands delicately on his.

"I'm so glad to finally be here; I've missed this place so much," I breathed out.

"I'm glad to have you here with me," he replied.

The Soutaichou had talked to us in private in regard to our relationship. Toushirou immediately responded that he truly had feelings for me, and wanted me to stay with him. I apologized to the Soutaichou about what I said prior when I was detained. I explained that what I said was out of concern for Toushirou and Rangiku, but that I truly did have feelings for Toushirou and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him and the others.

I fully expected the man to tell us that it was completely against the law, but to my surprise, he didn't. He said that although it is generally frowned upon for the Taichou-level members of the Gotei 13, everyone still has the right to choose someone to share and spend the rest of their life with. Since I helped in the final battle against Aizen, he agreed that he would let our relationship ensue under the premise of it not interfering with matters of the Gotei 13. I nearly almost cried. I curtly bowed right along with Toushirou, and thanked him for his kindness. He dismissed us, and I immediately left with Toushirou toward Division 12 to fulfill part of my original agreement.

The Soutaichou was concerned on just how I was able to reincarnate due to the nature of exactly what I was. It was agreed that if I were to stay in the Seireitei, not only would I have to become a full fledged Shinigami, but I would have to make routine visits to Kurotsuchi to monitor my spiritual pressure. Toushirou didn't like the later part one bit, but I hushed him and agreed to the condition.

Now knowing that it was Urahara's doing that gave me a second chance, the past 48 hours spent under thorough investigation from Kurotsuchi was a waste. At least now I can report it to him tomorrow and he can discuss with Urahara if anything else needs to be done.

This was my first time back at Toushirou's, and the endorphins within me couldn't help but multiply in my incandescent state.

I tapped Toushirou lightly before taking a step forward into the living room. I looked around like I was a spectator at an antique show; admiring every inch of the place with wonder in my eyes. I finally plopped down on the couch and looked back to Toushirou who just stood and watched me, completely mesmerized. I smiled up at him, and he made his way over toward me.

"Toushirou, I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here with you; it means the world to me that you would open up your home for me. I promise that I'll keep it clean for you, and that I won't change anything,"

He sat down next to me, and turned to look at me.

"It's no longer just my home—it's _our_ home. We both will keep care of it, _together_." He smiled.

I looked down at my thumbs—my nervous habit of twiddling my thumbs in full effect at the excitement of his words.

" _Our_ home—I like the sound of that; it has a lovely ring to it." I smiled, taking a deep breath.

He set his hand over my busy thumbs, and I looked back over at him.

"From here forward, what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine; does that sound fair to you?" He asked.

I nodded as my smile widened.

"Sounds absolutely wonderful." I replied.

I looked back down at his hand, and turned one of mine up to squeeze his. The butterflies in my stomach couldn't take it anymore.

"Speaking of what's mine," I scooted closer to him; my thigh a mere hair away from touching his.

I could already feel the blush on my face as the thoughts raced through my mind. The confidence I had to make the move was now gone as I realized just how straight-forward I was being.

"I-I…I want to…"

I stammered. A sudden fear of my premeditated actions sank my stomach down. I looked back down at my hands, and breathed. Toushirou gently placed his other hand over mine.

"You want t—"

My lips pressed against his in a swift, adrenaline-filled motion, cutting off his sentence. I turned my torso to face him, and squeezed his hand as I drew out the kiss that I'd been longing for. My heart thumped in my chest, and after a few seconds, I immediately pulled back and faced forward; head craned down to focus on our hands.

"T-That was a little too sudden! I'm so sorry! I just—"

"Azumi,"

His hands left mine, and he pulled me closer to him before turning my face to look at his.

Before I could say anything, he lifted my chin up with his thumb and fore-finger, and went in to kiss me. He moved his lips gently against mine as he released my chin and slid his hand to lightly graze my neck. Thinking that the butterflies would settle if I gave him a quick kiss was completely wrong—they flurried now more than ever.

He turned his body to face mine, and leaned forward into me as he continued this dance with our lips. My heart skipped a beat as his hand ghosted along my thigh and up to my hip; the feeling making my insides quiver at the touch. He nibbled at my bottom lip, and gently asked for entry as his tongue slid lightly along my inner layer lip. I obliged, placing my hand at the base of his head and gently pulling him closer. He slid his tongue inside, sending electronic signals from my brain that made my thighs squeeze together in anticipation. He dominated the entry; feeling the nooks and crannies of me as he slid his hand toward my waistline. He stopped at the center of my waistline, his fingers hovering and slowly tugging at the edges of my tucked in shihakushou.

I took my freehand and slid it along the forearm of his lingering hand, and motioned him to continue forward. He got the message and slid his hand been the robes and underneath my undershirt; his warm hand touching my bare skin and slithering to my side. The touch of his calloused palm on my skin sent a new wave of confidence to ripple through me, and I let it control me.

In a coordinated—which is new for me—and swift motion that didn't disconnect our kiss, I pushed myself up, and crept onto his lap; straddling him as I leaned down toward him to deepen the kiss. I could feel the smirk playing on his lips—he was impressed by my bold action.

Although my action was completely nerve-wracking, my confidence continued to overpower my cowardly tendencies. One hand begged for entry into his shihakushou while my fingers of the other went through his hair; gripping it enough to show that I was itching for some dominance. He let me have my way; he slowed down the kiss enough for me to take the reigns, and I obliged by slipping my tongue into him. He greeted me, and let me have my way inside of his mouth while he crept farther up my shirt, and gently pressed his fingers on the rib just underneath my bra.

I took my time with my own hand, tracing over his sculpted abdominals as if they were a message written in Brail. The mental visual I had of the last time I saw him shirtless made me anxious in the best of ways; my kiss deepening and showing that I wanted more of him. His pressed hand on my ribcage slowly began to retract out of my shirt, and although I nearly whined over the loss of the contact, he made up for it by placing both of his hands on my thighs, and sliding them to my hips to pull me closer to him.

In doing so, the bulge in his pants made itself known beneath me, and made me smirk in confidence that he was still enjoying my actions as much as I was enjoying his. Feeling my smirk, he pressed his thumbs into my hip bones, and immediately regained control of our kiss as a comeback. I released his hair, and slid my hand to his cheek before moving my fingers to graze and lightly tug his earlobe. My other hand traveled farther upward toward his pecs, pushing his shihakushou to open up further.

He slowly slid his hands past my hip bones and completely to my sides. He slithered down my waist, and his fingers pressed into me as he slid his hands downward. His fingers grazed over my butt—which made my hand touching his chest noticeably falter—and that smirk of his was back on his face when I failed to hold back a small, sharp intake. After lingering his hands in that spot for a few seconds, he continued down toward my thighs and wedged his hands between my legs and his.

He leaned forward from his pushed back position against the couch, and slowly—so I wouldn't freak out or fall—he picked me up and stood up holding me closely against him. I yelped anyway, and in fear of falling, I wrapped my legs around his torso and moved both of my hands to either side of his neck. That smirk grew, and he pulled back from his kiss to lightly peck my lips as a form of apology. I smiled and began deepening the kiss again to show that it was acceptable. With no trouble at all it seemed, he walked with me in his arms around the couch and toward his—er, _our_ —bedroom.

He pushed the door open gently, and led us inside to the bed. He set me down at the foot of the mattress, and broke the kiss momentarily. He put his forehead against mine, and trailed his hand from my shoulder up to my neck.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I was breathing a bit heavily, so I assumed that maybe he thought I was tired.

"I-I'm more than okay," I answered. "You just have my heart beating a mile a minute," I smiled.

He lightly swept his thumb to and fro in its spot on my neck.

"I can say the same," he responded.

I couldn't help but let out a small giggle at his comeback. I put both of my hands on either side of his head, and pulled back to look at him. The moonlight that peeked through the sheer curtains lit him up just enough for me to make out the facial features I yearned to see. He looked right back into me with those eyes I always seemed to get lost in; the visual contact making my nerves go haywire with need for his touch. As I studied him I smiled, and couldn't help but pull myself forward for a quick peck.

"Ah, I almost forgot," he said as he pulled back from me. He reached into the inner pocket of his haori, and took the object out and held it in his closed hand in front of me.

"This belongs to you," he smiled.

I held my hand out, and he put the bracelet I thought was lost forever into my palm. My face lit up, and my big goofy grin was in full effect.

"I-I thought this was gone forever! You kept it?" I grinned, already knowing the answer yet wanting to hear it vocalized.

"Of course I did—it was the only thing left of you," his smile faltered.

He was still so hurt by my absence—these past few months must've pained him more than they did me. I knew at the very least that there was a chance he was alive; he had no clue that I was alive at all. I don't know what I'd do if I were the one in his shoes…

I stood back up, and gave him a quick peck. I wrapped my arms around him, and squeezed.

"I'm here, Toushirou—I'll always be here with you now; there's no need for you to hurt or worry anymore. There's nothing separating us now, and I plan on keeping it that way if you allow me to."

He squeezed me back tightly, taking a deep breath and exhaling out all the misery and loneliness he'd felt over the past few months.

"You don't even have to ask—I wouldn't have it any other way." He told me as his head nudged against me.

I grinned and pulled us back onto the bed; surprising him almost enough for a small gasp to leave his lips.

"Come here," I smiled with a small chuckle.

I wrapped my arms around him again, and he turned so I could snuggle into him. "Promise to never let me go?" I asked.

Toushirou wrapped his arms around me, and held me closely as he kissed the top of my forehead.

"I promise; in my arms is where you belong," He replied softly.

And in his arms is where I always wanted to be. Because he was the one I wanted to be around the most. He was the one I wanted to touch me, and hold me close—the heartbeat I wanted to hear. I shifted my head up, and kissed just under his jawline before settling myself back against him.

It occurred to me then and there, surrounded by his warm comfort that this was what I was seeking all along. My fate has been completely fogged and hazy for so long, and I didn't quite know where I was meant to end up.

But _right here, right now,_ the fog that blinded me began to open, and rays of sun beamed through to show me the way…it was clear as crystal to me now.

With him…

…is where I've always been meant to be.


End file.
